Today, the EC announced its first fines under the DMA: Apple has been fined โฌ500 million for failing to comply with anti-steering obligations, while Meta faces a โฌ200 million fine for not providing consumers with a choice of a service that uses fewer personal data.
- ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ'๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ป-๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: The EC found that Apple's restrictions prevent app developers from informing customers about alternative offers outside the App Store. This limits consumer access to potentially cheaper options.
- ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ'๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ป-๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: The EC found that Meta's 'Consent or Pay' model did not offer users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses fewer personal data. While Meta introduced a new ads model in November 2024, which is still under investigation, the fine relates to the old model used between March 2024 and November 2024.
Both companies must comply with the ECโs decisions within 60 days to avoid further penalties.
๐๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐:
- The EC has decided to ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ after Apple made significant changes to its browser choice screen and default settings.
- Additionally, the EC has ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐, following Meta's measures to reduce business-to-consumer use of the platform.
For more information on the DMA and its enforcement, you can access our extensive DMA series via the BLOMSTEIN homepage.