On April 23, 2025, the European Commission fined Meta and Apple for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple was fined €500 million for restrictive App Store measures, while Meta was fined €200 million for its "Consent or Pay" model. These actions reinforce fair competition.
On April 23, 2025, the European Commission fined Meta and Apple for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple was fined €500 million for restrictive App Store measures, while Meta was fined €200 million for its "Consent or Pay" model. These actions reinforce fair competition.
The Commission has fined Apple €500 million for failing to comply with the DMA. Under the DMA, app developers must be allowed to inform users about alternative offers outside the App Store and enable external purchases, which are either more cost-efficient or free of charge. However, Apple imposed restrictive measures preventing developers from directing users to alternative options, limiting consumer access to more affordable alternatives. The Commission found these restrictions unjustified and ruled that Apple’s actions hinder fair competition. Apple has now been ordered to remove both technical and commercial barriers to “steering” and avoid any similar practices going forward. This decision reinforces the DMA’s aim of ensuring a fairer digital market and a larger pool of options for consumers across the European Union (EU).
Meta was also fined €200 million by the Commission for violating the DMA between March and November 2024. During this period, Meta offered European users of its main social media platforms Facebook and Instagram a binary "Consent or Pay" model; wherein users either accept personalized ads using combined personal data or pay for an ad-free experience. The Commission found this model non-compliant, as it did not offer a less data-intensive, yet equivalent, free alternative. In November 2024, Meta introduced a revised ad model claiming to use fewer personal data, which is currently under review.
Separately, the Commission retracted its position that Facebook Marketplace is considered as a regulated service, due to its number of users. This means that Marketplace does no longer fall within the remit of the DMA.
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