EU Commission
Apple and Meta have to pay millions
The tech giants Apple and Facebook mother Meta are said to have violated EU law. Now you have to pay a juicy punishment. But the last word has not yet been spoken.
The EU Commission imposes against the US tech corporations Apple and Meta penalties of 500 million and 200 million euros.
According to the authority, the companies violated European digital law. The punishments can still be taken in court. Apple has already announced that the punishment is legally contested.
According to the Commission, the US companies are said to have violated the so-called law on digital markets (DMA). The regulation, for example, is to ensure that no other providers are disadvantaged with a dominant position.
It is the first time that the Commission impose punishments under the DMA.
According to Apple, the commission’s procedure is unfair. One is forced to hand over technology free of charge. “We invested hundreds of thousands of development hours and made dozens of changes to meet this law,” said Apple. Despite countless meetings, the Commission repeatedly postponed targets.
EU denies the connection with US customs policy
The punishments could have an impact on the current tensions between the USA and the EU. The Republican Chairman of the US Federal Trading Commission (FTC), Andrew Ferguson, recently said at an event that it would look like the Digital Markets Act (DMA) was a form of taxation by American companies.
The EU Commission has repeatedly imposed high punishments against US tech companies in recent years.
The Brussels authority, on the other hand, always emphasizes that proceedings against American tech companies are not related to the current tensions with Washington because of the customs dispute.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen brought taxes on advertising revenue for large online platforms at the end of last week.
Not all offers are available
The procedure is about Apple preventing app developers from making offers outside of the app store, according to the EU Commission. Users could not benefit in full of alternatives and cheaper offers, since the group keeps the developers from informing them directly about such offers.
According to the Commission, Meta’s punishment is due to its so-called pay-or-consent model. The Brussels authority had already announced last July that it took the view that this was not compatible with EU law.
The focus is on the fact that users of Facebook and Instagram have to choose an ad -free version and a free version with personalized advertising between a monthly fee. There are not sufficient way to choose a service that uses less personal data.
According to the Commission, Meta introduced another version of the free personalized advertising model in November 2024. There is a new option in which less personal data is to be used. “The Commission is currently examining this new option.” The punishment relates to the period of the alleged legal violation between March 2024 and November 2024.
Higher penalties would have been possible
If you don’t stick to the DMA, you have to expect drastic sanctions. The legal text provides the possibility of imposing punishments of up to ten percent of the global annual turnover. In the case of repeat offenders, this sentence can increase to 20 percent.
Apple had reported sales of almost $ 400 billion (around EUR 370 billion) for the past year. At META, the value of the company is around $ 165 billion.
Note: This post has been updated.
Dpa
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Source: Stern
