Today, the European Commission found that Apple breached its anti-steering obligation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and that Meta breached the DMA obligation to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data. Therefore, the Commission has fined Apple and Meta with €500 million and €200 million respectively.
The two decisions come after extensive dialogue with the companies concerned allowing them to present in detail their views and arguments.
Non-compliance decision on Apple’s steering terms
Under the DMA, 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 Commission found that Apple fails to comply with this obligation. Due to a number of restrictions imposed by Apple, app developers cannot fully benefit from the advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers. The company has failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate.
As part of today’s decision, the Commission has ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future, which includes adopting conduct with an equivalent object or effect.
The fine imposed on Apple takes into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance.
Today, the Commission has also closed the investigation on Apple’s user choice obligations, thanks to early and proactive engagement by Apple on a compliance solution. You will find more information on these decisions here.
Non-compliance decision on Meta’s “consent or pay” model
Under the DMA, gatekeepers must seek users’ consent for combining their personal data between services. Those users who do not consent must have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative.
In November 2023, Meta introduced a binary ‘Consent or Pay’ advertising model. Under this model, EU users of Facebook and Instagram had a choice between consenting to personal data combination for personalised advertising or paying a monthly subscription for an ad-free service.
The Commission found that this model is not compliant with the DMA, as it did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads’ service. Meta’s model also did not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.
In November 2024, after numerous exchanges with the Commission, Meta introduced another version of the free personalised ads model, offering a new option that allegedly uses less personal data to display advertisements. The Commission is currently assessing this new option and continues its dialogue with Meta, requesting the company to provide evidence of the impact that this new ads model has in practice.
Without prejudice to this ongoing assessment, today’s decision finding non-compliance concerns the time period during which end users in the EU were only offered the binary ‘Consent or Pay’ option between March 2024, when the DMA obligations became legally binding, and November 2024, when Meta’s new ads model was introduced.
The fine imposed on Meta also takes into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance, while noting that today’s decisions taken against Apple and Meta are the first non-compliance decisions adopted under the DMA.
Today, the Commission also found that Meta’s online intermediation service Facebook Marketplace should no longer be designated under the DMA. The decision follows a request submitted by Meta on 5 March 2024 to reconsider the designation of Marketplace. Following a careful assessment of Meta’s arguments and as a result of Meta’s additional enforcement and continued monitoring measures to counteract the business-to-consumer use of Marketplace, the Commission found that Marketplace had less than 10,000 business users in 2024. Meta therefore no longer meets the relevant threshold giving rise to a presumption that Marketplace is an important gateway for business users to reach end users.
Next Steps
Apple and Meta are required to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days, otherwise they risk periodic penalty payments.
The Commission continues its engagement with Apple and Meta to ensure compliance with the Commission’s decisions and the DMA more generally.
Background
On 25 March 2024, the Commission opened non-compliance investigations into Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and Meta’s “pay or consent model”. On 24 June 2024 and 1 July 2024, the Commission respectively informed Apple and Meta of its preliminary view that the companies were in breach of the DMA.
Apple and Meta had the possibility to exercise their rights of defence by examining in detail all the documents in the Commission’s investigation files and comprehensively replying in writing to the Commission’s preliminary findings. The Commission can fine non-compliant companies up to 10 % of their global annual turnover.
For more information and latest news on the DMA, please check the Commission website.
Quote(s)
Today’s decisions send a strong and clear message. The Digital Markets Act is a crucial instrument to unlock potential, choice and growth by ensuring digital players can operate in contestable and fair markets. It protects European consumers and levels the playing field. Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms. As a result, we have taken firm but balanced enforcement action against both companies, based on clear and predictable rules. All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
Enabling free business and consumer choice is at the core of the rules laid down in the Digital Markets Act. This includes ensuring that citizens have full control over when and how their data is used online, and businesses can freely communicate with their own customers. The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behaviour. We have a duty to protect the rights of citizens and innovative businesses in Europe and I am fully committed to this objective.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
EU Commission closes investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations and issues preliminary findings on rules for alternative apps under the Digital Markets Act
Brussels, 23 April 2025
Following a constructive dialogue with Apple, the Commission has decided to close its investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission has also informed Apple of its preliminary view that Apple’s contract terms concerning alternative app distribution breach the DMA.
Closing of the investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations
The Commission closed the investigation against Apple with respect to the DMA obligation that gives users in the EU the possibility to easily uninstall any software applications and change default settings on iOS, as well as to choose their default web browser from a choice screen.
This closure follows a constructive dialogue between the Commission and Apple. As a result, Apple changed its browser choice screen, streamlining the user experience of selecting and setting a new default browser on iPhone.
Apple also made it easier for users to change default settings for calling, messaging, call filtering, keyboards, password managers, and translation services on iPhones. A new menu now allows users to adjust their default settings in one centralised location, streamlining the customisation process.
In addition, users can now uninstall several Apple pre-installed apps, such as Safari — a functionality previously unavailable.
The Commission will keep monitoring Apple’s measures and continue its regulatory dialogue to ensure full and effective user choice, as safeguarded by the DMA.
Today, the Commission has also imposed fines to Apple and Meta for respective breaches of the Digital Markets Act. You can find more information here.
Preliminary findings on Apple’s contract terms
Under the DMA, Apple is required to allow for the distribution of apps on its iOS operating system by means other than through the Apple App Store. In practical terms, this means that Apple should allow third party app stores on iOS and apps to be downloaded to the iPhone directly from the web.
The Commission takes the preliminary view that Apple failed to comply with this obligation in view of the conditions it imposes on app (and app store) developers. Developers wanting to use alternative app distribution channels on iOS are disincentivised from doing so as this requires them to opt for business terms which include a new fee (Apple’s Core Technology Fee). Apple also introduced overly strict eligibility requirements, hampering developers’ ability to distribute their apps through alternative channels. Finally, Apple makes it overly burdensome and confusing for end users to install apps when using such alternative app distribution channels.
The Commission has preliminarily found that Apple has failed to demonstrate that the measures put in place are strictly necessary and proportionate. Apple now has the possibility to exercise its rights of defence by examining the documents in the Commission’s investigation file and by responding to the preliminary findings.
Background
On 25 March 2024, the Commission opened a non-compliance investigation into Apple’s compliance with user choice obligations related to users’ ability to easily uninstall any software applications on iOS; to easily change default settings on iOS; to prompt users with choice screens which must effectively and easily allow them to select an alternative browser on their iPhones.
On 24 June 2024, the Commission opened a non-compliance investigation into Apple over concerns that its new contractual requirements for alternative app distribution, including Apple’s new “Core Technology Fee”, fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple’s obligations under the DMA.
For more information and latest news on the DMA, please check the Commission website.
Digital Markets Act: Chair Anna Cavazzini reacts to first Commission decision on Apple and Meta non-compliance
Brussels, 23 April 2025
Today the Commission issued its first fines for breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), for Apple’s steering terms and Meta’s “consent or pay” model. Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, DE), Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, commented on the decision:
Today’s decision is by no means the start of a ‘tech war’ in response to Trump’s erratic tariff policy. Instead, it is the consistent implementation of existing EU law. This includes, as a last resort, imposing fines on Apple and Meta under the DMA regulation to ensure they comply with EU digital legislation. It is very easy for companies to avoid this: they just have to comply with European law.
“The DMA will benefit small and medium-sized tech companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, as it is a law that promotes fair competition. It prevents unfair practices that prevent smaller players, in particular, from reaching their target audience or accessing certain data that bigger companies control through their market power”.
“All companies operating in the EU single market must comply with EU rules, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or in third countries. It would have been extremely worrying if the Commission had further delayed the procedures already outlined in the law, giving the impression that the EU is being blackmailed by Trump’s threats. Incidentally, legal proceedings against the monopolistic positions of some large tech companies have also been underway in the US since this week.”
Background
Today, the European Commission found that Apple breached the company’s anti-steering obligation under the DMA, and that Meta breached the DMA obligation to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data. It hasfined Apple and Meta €500 million and €200 million, respectively.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector. It regulates gatekeepers, which are large digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers. The scale and power of gatekeepers mean they may have the monopoly and therefore reduce competitiveness in the digital economy. The DMA is one of the first tools to comprehensively regulate the gatekeeper power of the largest digital companies. Itentered into force on 1 November2022 and became applicable on 2 May 2023.
On 23 January 2025, the members of the DMA working group, together with the IMCO Chair and otherMEPs, sent a letterto Executive Vice-Presidents Virkkunen and Ribera. The letter urged the Commission to expedite ongoing investigations, closely monitor AI and cloud services, and assess their potential designation as core platform services.
MEP Andreas Schwab (EPP/CDU): Fines against Apple and Meta also benefit the US economy
“Apple and Meta violated their obligations to open their platforms to fair competition. €500 million may seem like a calculated risk for Apple, but legally speaking, the identified violation only covered a one-year period. All future violations will carry significantly tougher penalties, as a result of this decision,” says Andreas Schwab MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on the Internal Market, commenting on the European Commission’s decision to impose fines against Apple and Meta for breach of EU competition rules.
“Today’s decision sends an unmistakable signal: even the most powerful digital corporations are not above the law. Those who systematically close off markets, suppress innovation, and deny consumers alternatives must expect serious consequences. Contrary to some media reports, these penalties are not ‘(trade-)political’ decisions. They are decisions based on clear legal provisions. Consistent and legally sound enforcement of the DMA is essential – not least to preserve the credibility and effectiveness of European competition policy as a whole. European consumers have always been open to using US services, and today’s decision will further expand their choice. This will also benefit the US economy,” Schwab continues.
“These sanctions are a strong signal: the rules of the European single market also apply in the digital realm. Those who violate our rules on competition, user rights, and platform responsibility must expect determined pushback. It’s not the amount that matters most – it’s the message. The European single market does not tolerate breaches of the law – not even in the digital world,” Schwab concludes.
Kommentar der EU-Abgeordneten Katarina Barley (SPD) zu Apple und Meta: “Rigoros gegen Verstöße vorgehen”
Von Katarina Barley
Die EU-Kommission hat soeben verkündet, den US-Konzernen Apple und Meta Geldstrafen in Millionenhöhe aufzuerlegen. Die Behörde wirft den Tech-Unternehmen fehlende Anpassungen an die bestehende EU-Gesetzgebung für digitale Märkte (Digital Markets Act) vor, die seit einem Jahr gilt: Apple habe in seinem App Store Konkurrenten benachteiligt. Meta wiederum habe durch das sogenannte ‘pay-or-consent’-Modell seine Nutzerinnen und Nutzern unrechtmäßig vor die Wahl gestellt, der Verwendung ihrer Daten für Werbezwecke zuzustimmen oder eine werbefreie, kostenplichtige Version des Dienstes zu nutzen.
Der DMA ist eine Verordnung der Europäischen Union, die die digitale Wirtschaft insgesamt fairer und wettbewerbsfähiger machen soll. Besonders kleinere Unternehmen sollen von der Umsetzung des DMA profitieren, da sie aufgrund der Marktmacht von Tech-Konzernen in vielen Bereichen benachteiligt sind. Verbraucher:innen werden mit dem Gesetz vor unfairen Praktiken und Intransparenz geschützt
Katarina Barley, Vizepräsidentin des EU-Parlaments und binnenmarktpolitische Sprecherin der Europa-SPD:
“Wer in der EU Geschäfte macht, muss sich an unsere Regeln halten. Die Entscheidungen gegen Apple und Meta zeigen, dass Europa nicht unter dem politischen Druck aus Washington einknickt. Der Digital Markets Act sorgt für fairen Wettbewerb und starke Verbraucher:innen-Rechte. Nur wenn wir unsere Gesetze entschlossen durchsetzen, werden wir Europas digitale Souveränität sichern. Es ist nur fair, dass auch die großen Tech-Konzerne sich daran halten müssen, und wir damit gleiche Chancen für alle sichern.
Wir müssen rigoros gegen weitere Verstöße vorgehen. Big Tech hat zu lange durch unfaire Praktiken den Wettbewerb verzerrt und kleinere Unternehmen behindert. Damit muss Schluss sein, damit sich Europas Potenzial für echte Innovation voll entfalten kann.”
Im März 2024 hatte die EU die formellen Verfahren gegen Apple und Meta eröffnet. Das Gesetz über digitale Märkte ist eines der Kernelemente der EU-Digitalstrategie und legt sogenannten ‘Gatekeepern’ besondere Pflichten auf. Gatekeeper sind Firmen mit einer gefestigten und dauerhaften Marktstellung, deren starke wirtschaftliche Position erhebliche Auswirkungen auf den Binnenmarkt hat. Am 6. September 2023 benannte die Europäische Kommission erstmals sechs Gatekeeper: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta und Microsoft. Der DMA schreibt vor, dass solche Gatekeeper ihre eigenen Produkte und Dienste nicht mehr bevorzugen, Suchmaschinenergebnisse steuern oder ohne Weiteres Daten von Nutzer:innen ohne deren Einwilligung verarbeiten dürfen.
Quelle – SPD im EU-Parlament
CCIA: First DMA Enforcement Actions Prompt Concerns Over Impact and Due Process
Brussels, BELGIUM – The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) takes note of the European Commission’s decisions and fines in the two investigations for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) announced today.
Today’s decisions, impacting Apple and Meta, mark the first sanctions under the DMA. Although the stated objective of the DMA is to foster competition in digital markets, CCIA Europe strongly criticises its enforcement for being opaque and discretionary – lacking both predictability and proportionality.
Since the DMA came into force, ‘gatekeeper’-designated companies first had to face months of unclear expectations and demands. They were repeatedly sent back to the drawing board by the Commission to make far-reaching changes to their services.
Senior Vice President and Head of CCIA Europe, Daniel Friedlaender, commented:
“The DMA’s credibility is being weakened by its unpredictable enforcement and shifting demands, combined with sweeping product-design mandates from the European Commission that disrupt the user experience and limit EU businesses’ ability to reach consumers.”
“One case sees the Commission prescribing highly technical decisions on business strategy and product engineering, even down to how products are coded. The other decision risks raising advertising costs and creating new roadblocks for European brands and SMEs looking to connect with customers across the European Union.”
“The Commission is redesigning business models of online platforms, moving goalposts, and limiting innovation. The DMA has become highly politicised, and could even force some companies to provide services at a loss. There is a huge opportunity for regulatory simplification in Europe – so far, however, the DMA decisions are going in the opposite direction.”
About CCIA Europe
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is an international, not-for-profit association representing a broad cross section of computer, communications, and internet industry firms.
As an advocate for a thriving European digital economy, CCIA Europe has been actively contributing to EU policy making since 2009.
CCIA’s Brussels-based team seeks to improve understanding of our industry and share the tech sector’s collective expertise, with a view to fostering balanced and well-informed policy making in Europe.
Source – CCIA (via email)
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