In a landmark enforcement of the EU’s (E.U.) Digital Markets Act it fines Apple and Meta for DMA breaches: €500M and €200M respectively
In a landmark enforcement of the European Union’s (E.U.) Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Commission has today fined Apple € 500 million and Meta € 200 million for failing to comply with core obligations under the DMA, marking the first non-compliance decisions issued under the regulation.
The European Commission determined that Apple violated its anti-steering obligations by preventing app developers from informing users about alternative, potentially cheaper purchasing options outside of the App Store. Under the DMA, app developers must be allowed to freely communicate with users and steer them to offers available beyond the Apple ecosystem.
Despite extensive discussions, Apple maintained a series of technical and commercial restrictions that limited developers’ ability to promote or facilitate external purchases. The European Commission concluded that these practices deprived consumers of the opportunity to make informed choices and benefit from competitive offers. In addition to the fine, Apple has been ordered to remove these restrictions and is prohibited from adopting equivalent conduct in the future.
Taking it to X, the Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission – Henna Virkkunen tweeted,
Today, we have concluded that Apple and Meta have breached the #DigitalMarketsAct and that Facebook Marketplace should no longer be designated under the #DMA.https://t.co/Gvvqg0c2O1 https://t.co/s78lcMEs0W
— Henna Virkkunen (@HennaVirkkunen) April 23, 2025
Besides, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was penalised for its “Consent or Pay” model introduced in March 2024. This model required users in the E.U. to either consent to personal data tracking for targeted ads or pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free experience.
The European Commission found this approach failed to meet DMA standards, as it did not offer a genuine alternative that used less personal data while maintaining a comparable user experience. Moreover, Meta’s model did not allow users to freely consent to the combination of their personal data across services. While Meta rolled out a revised ads model in November 2024 that claims to use less data, today’s decision concerns the 8-month period during which the binary “Consent or Pay” choice was the only option available to E.U. users.
In a separate development, the Commission accepted Meta’s request that Facebook’s Marketplace should not be designated under the DMA. Following a review, the European Commission concluded that Marketplace no longer meets the user threshold required for continued designation, citing fewer than 10,000 business users in 2024 and additional enforcement measures by Meta to limit business-to-consumer activity.
Going ahead, Apple and Meta must implement the Commission’s decisions within 60 days, failing which they could face additional periodic penalties. The Commission has signalled that it will continue to engage with both companies to monitor compliance and uphold the integrity of the DMA.
