FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – The European Union has fined Apple and Meta a combined 700 million euros ($798.7 million) for breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), intensifying transatlantic trade tensions.
Apple was fined 500 million euros for restricting app developers from informing users about alternative purchasing options outside its App Store, violating anti-steering provisions under the DMA.
The Commission stated that Apple’s practices limited developers’ access to external distribution channels and prevented consumers from exploring potentially cheaper offers.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, received a 200-million-euro fine for its “Consent or Pay” model introduced in 2023.
Under this system, EU users were required to either consent to targeted advertising or pay a subscription fee for an ad-free experience.