Apple Hit With €500M Fine as EU Enforces Digital Markets Act

The European Commission has fined Apple 500 million euros ($570 million) and Meta 200 million euros ($230 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), in the first penalties ever issued under the new EU tech regulation.

Apple was penalized for restricting app developers from informing users about alternative payment options outside the App Store. The Commission said it had determined that Apple’s policies prevented developers from taking full advantage of distribution channels beyond Apple’s ecosystem, limiting consumer access to potentially cheaper offerings.

“App developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases,” the European Commission stated.

The Commission said it had ordered Apple to “remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering” and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future.

Today, the Commission also closed the investigation on Apple’s user choice obligations, thanks to “early and proactive engagement by Apple” on a compliance solution. Apple now gives users more options to delete apps that come preinstalled on iPhones.

Meta’s fine stems from its “consent or pay” model implemented in November 2023, which forced European users to either consent to personal data combination for targeted advertising or pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free experience on Facebook and Instagram.

The Commission ruled that Meta’s approach failed to provide users with a genuine choice regarding their personal data, as required by the DMA. Meta has since introduced a modified version of its advertising model in November 2024, which the Commission is currently evaluating.

Both companies have been ordered to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days or face additional periodic penalty payments.

Apple said it plans to appeal the decision. The company called it “another example of the commission unfairly targeting the company” with actions that are “bad for the privacy and security of our users.”

Meta also indicated it would likely appeal. Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, said that “the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service.”

The penalties represent approximately 0.1% of each company’s annual revenue, which is significantly below the potential maximum fine of 10% allowed under the DMA.

The rulings come amid ongoing trade negotiations between the EU and the US, which could potentially add another layer of complexity to the transatlantic tech regulations.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here’s What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Despite being more than two years old, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple’s habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven…

iPhone 17 Air’s Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We’ve seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the “iPhone 17 Air” will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be …

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple’s iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple’s 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone…

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory…

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and …

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more…

Apple’s 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple is preparing a “bold” new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. As part of what’s being described as a “major shake-up,” Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here’s the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no…

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update’s release notes say it “addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles.” If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should…