EU fines Apple and Meta €700m for non-compliance with Digital Markets Act

On 23 April 2025, the European Commission (“the Commission”) issued its first fines for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (the “DMA”) to Apple and Meta.  The fines are the result of investigations into Apple and Meta which began in March 2024 when the deadline for ‘gatekeepers’ to comply with the DMA expired. Under the DMA, the Commission can designate an online platform as ‘gatekeeper’ if it provides a core platform service that serves as an important gateway for business users to reach end users, assessed by reference to certain quantitative thresholds.

The tech giants were informed in June and July 2024 respectively that the Commission had formed the preliminary view that they were both in breach of the DMA. Both companies were given the opportunity to carry out a detailed review of the files and documents used in the investigation and to reply in writing to the Commission’s preliminary finding. The highly anticipated penalties are the first to be issued under the DMA and act as a warning to other organisations to abide by the DMA in full.

Apple’s Steering Terms

Apple has been hit with fines of €500 million for breaches of the DMA’s anti steering provisions. Under the DMA, any developer choosing to distribute its programmes via Apple’s App Store should be entitled to inform customers of alternative offers outside the App Store free of charge and be allowed to direct them to these offers and allow them make purchases. The Commission found that Apple failed to comply with this obligation given the restrictions they imposed on developers preventing them from directly informing consumers of such alternative offerings. The effect of such noncompliance meant consumers were not able to avail of cheaper alternatives and app developers could not make use of other distribution channels outside of the App Store.

The Commission concluded that Apple failed to demonstrate the restrictions were objectively necessary and proportionate and ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from engaging in the non-compliant conduct in the future.

The Commission also noted that it closed another avenue of investigation into Apple’s user-choice obligations under the DMA following “early and proactive engagement” on Apple’s behalf and what the Commission described as “constructive dialogue” between them and Apple. The company implemented changes such as making it easier to change the default settings for keyboards, calling and messaging, password managers and translation services including the ability to uninstall several Apple pre-installed software applications such as Safari.

Meta’s “Consent or Pay” Model

The fines handed down to Meta are particularly interesting given the data protection elements involved. The core of the EU’s accusation was that Meta disregarded Article 5(2) of the DMA which sets out the obligations for gatekeepers. Under Article 5(2)(b) of the DMA, so-called gatekeepers must obtain the consent of users to have their personal data combined across two or more services. In the event a person does not give their consent, they must have access to an equivalent but less personalised service.

The Commission found that Meta’s model across Instagram and Facebook was not compliant with the DMA and issued them with a fine of €200 million. Meta had introduced a “Consent or Pay” advertising model which offered users a choice of consenting to personal data combination for personalised advertising or paying for a subscription-based service to access their services ad-free. Meta’s offering ultimately meant that users could not access equivalent services without personalised ads. The Commission found that users were not allowed to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data or refuse to such combination. The mechanisms used by Meta between May and November 2024 failed to meet the requirements for freedom of choice.

This fine further supports the stance taken by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) which has adopted its Opinion 08/2024 regarding “Consent or Pay” models used by Large Online Platforms. The EDPB submits that “Consent or Pay” models generally do not meet the requirements for valid consent under the General Data Protection Regulation and undermine the overarching principles of data privacy. Their Opinion further went on to conclude that personal data should not be viewed as a tradeable commodity and that consent cannot be considered freely given if the user suffers detriment by not providing consent. The EDPB expressed concern that a data subject’s voluntariness may be jeopardised if the only alternative offered to users is payment of a fee.

The EU press release sets out that the Commission is engaging with Meta on an ongoing basis to ensure their other services are compliant. Late last year, Meta introduced another version of the free personalised advertisements service with the option to supposedly have less personal data used to display advertisements. The commission has sought evidence from Meta on the impact of the new service in practice. Meta and the EU even went so far as to design choice screens in conjunction with one another to aid compliance efforts going forward.

Designation of Facebook Marketplace

Following a request submitted by Meta in March 2024 to reconsider the designation of Facebook Marketplace under the DMA, the Commission also found that the Facebook Marketplace service should no longer be designated under the DMA. The Commission found that Marketplace has less than 10,000 business users in 2024 and as such, is no longer subject to the presumption that it is an important platform for business users to reach end consumers. The Commission took into account Meta’s increased levels of enforcement against business to consumer use of the Marketplace platform.

The fines imposed take into account the gravity and duration of Apple and Meta’s noncompliance, while acknowledging that these are the first decisions issued under the DMA. Apple and Meta have 60 days to comply with the Commission's decisions before the Commission begin to impose periodic penalty payments. The Commission will continue to monitor and engage with Apple and Meta to ensure compliance with their decision and the DMA more generally. Commissioner Teresa Ribera described the actions taken against both companies as “firm but balanced”

Key Takeaways

The EU is clearly taking the enforcement of its new antitrust legislation very seriously and the fines issued to Meta and Apple should act as forewarning to other gatekeepers not to act in contravention of the DMA. It will likely be a decision for the CJEU to determine if the fines issued are upheld with both Meta and Apple indicating they are considering appeals.

The EU will engage with large corporations on a constructive basis to ensure compliance with the DMA. The EU’s press release with respect to the Apple fine makes express mention of their productive consultation with the Cupertino based company.

The redesignation of Facebook Marketplace demonstrates the need for gatekeepers to review their services on an ongoing basis to see if they fall within or outside the scope of the DMA. Further developments will have to be closely monitored to ensure ongoing cooperation.