The European Commission, the EU's executive agency, said it will fine Apple €500 million ($571 million) and Meta €200 million ($228.4 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
According to EU officials, they have decided to fine Apple for preventing developers from redirecting users to platforms outside the App Store to access cheaper deals.
This means that Apple requires all transactions to be done through the App Store, limiting more affordable options for both users and developers.
Apple said in a statement that it plans to appeal the EU fine, while continuing to discuss with the Commission on related issues.
Todays announcement is another example of the European Commissions unfair target on Apple through a series of decisions that disadvantage user privacy and confidentiality, disadvantage products, and force us to provide free technology, Apple said.
For Meta, the European Commission found that the company had asked users to agree to share their data with the company or pay for the ad-free service illegally. This is a reaction to Meta's introduction of a paid subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram in November 2023.
Joel Kaplan, Meta's global operations director, responded strongly to the penalty. He said that the European Commission is applying different standards to US businesses compared to Chinese and European companies.
According to Phone Arena, the fines for Apple and Meta, although large, are not as good as the $2.7 billion that Google suffered last year. It is also much less than the $38 billion that former EU antitrust director Margrethe Vestager gave to Apple alone.
In addition to the fine, Apple received a warning from the EU to remove restrictions that prevent developers from only giving users better deals, while Meta had to change to less personalized advertising options. Both companies have 60 days to change if they do not want to accept additional penalties.
