Brussels’s antitrust chief Teresa Ribera told the European Parliament that the ruling, previously expected in March, was on its way.
A European Union decision on whether Apple and Meta have broken the bloc’s tech rules aimed at curbing their market power is set to be issued in the coming weeks, Brussels’s antitrust chief Teresa Ribera told the
European Parliament on Tuesday.
The European Commission, which acts as the bloc’s executive branch, has been investigating the two tech giants since March last year for potential infractions of the
Digital Markets Act (DMA), which sets out a list of dos and don’ts for tech giants in a bid to keep the market open to rival smaller firms to give consumers more choice.
Under the terms of the act, companies can be
fined up to 10 percent of their annual worldwide turnover for a first offense, and for repeated violations, this can increase to 20 percent.
In addition to fines, the European Commission can impose
periodic penalty payments of up to 5 percent of the company’s average daily worldwide turnover for each day a particular violation continues, to incentivize the swift correction of breaches.
Ribera, who had previously told Reuters that she would issue her decision on Apple and Meta in March, said it would now take a bit longer.
“Decisions could be adopted in the coming weeks,” she
told lawmakers when asked about the timing.
“If we do not see willingness to cooperate, we will not shy away from imposing the fines identified by the law.”
Meta reiterated its criticism of the imminent decisions.
“This is not just about fines—it’s about the commission seeking to handicap successful American businesses simply because they’re American, while letting Chinese and European rivals off the hook,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Apple has yet to comment on Ribera’s latest remarks.
Silicon Valley giants have frequently been penalized in Europe in recent years, with
Apple,
Microsoft,
Meta, and
Google all on the receiving ends of fines by the EU or individual nations.
Last month, Apple was found to have breached the DMA, after the European Commission specified two sets of measures the company must take to comply with the “interoperability obligation,” which refers to third-party products being able to seamlessly integrate with Apple’s ecosystem.
“The first set of measures concerns nine iOS connectivity features, predominantly used for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones or TVs,” the commission said.
The second set of measures is aimed at improving transparency and effectiveness related to the process Apple has established for developers requesting interoperability with iPhone and iPad features.
This includes setting up a more predictable timeline for reviewing such developer requests, better access to documentation regarding features not yet available to third parties, and timely communication.
Last year, the commission told Meta that its subscription model, which requires European Facebook and Instagram users to either provide personal data to access the platform or pay to retain privacy, violates the DMA, based on preliminary findings.
They said that the “pay or consent” ad model fails to comply with the act and suggested Meta should come up with a different option for users who don’t wish to subscribe.
Apple was also
last month fined by France’s antitrust watchdog 150 million euros (about $162 million) over a privacy feature protecting users from apps spying on them because its implementation resulted in competition law violations.
The French Competition Authority (FCA) said that the aim of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT)—requiring iPhone and iPad apps to ask users for permission before tracking them—was not itself the issue.
However, it ruled that the “way in which it was implemented was neither necessary nor proportionate to Apple’s stated objective of protecting personal data.”
Reuters and Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
