EU fines Apple €500m and Meta €200m over DMA violations
23/04/2025 | European Commission
After much speculation over delays and potential political fallout, the European Commission has issued its first fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to Apple and Meta.
Apple was fined €500 million for breaching the DMA's anti-steering obligation by failing to allow app developers to inform customers of alternative offers outside the App Store and allow them to make purchases. In addition to the fine, the Commission has ordered Apple to remove its technical and commercial restrictions around steering and to refrain from any future non-compliant activities.
Meta was fined €200 million for failing to provide its Facebook and Instagram users with a genuine choice concerning the combination of their personal data in relation to its Consent or Pay business model introduced in November 2023. The Commission found that Meta's model did not offer users sufficient options to choose a service level that uses less personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the free service with personalised ads.
The Commission's decision against Meta is based on its investigation carried out between March and November 2024. In November 2024, Meta introduced an additional option with less personalised ads to address the Commission's concerns. The Commission has since requested further evidence of the impact of the new service option.
At the IAPP Global Privacy Summit 2025, a panel of European data protection regulators discussed the issue shortly after the fine against Metas was announced.
Additional legal analysis of the Meta decision by TaylorWessing and Pinsent Masons.
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