The European Commission has activated its powers under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) for the first time — and made a bold move. Two Silicon Valley giants, Apple and Meta, have been fined a total of €700 million, marking the largest antitrust penalty in the EU in recent years.
Apple must pay €500 million for what the Commission described as “anti-competitive tying”: restricting app developers from informing users about cheaper alternatives outside the App Store. This is considered a direct violation of one of the DMA’s core principles — the freedom of commercial information.
Meta received a €200 million fine. The issue: since 2023, users of the company’s platforms (including Facebook and Instagram) were forced either to pay for subscriptions or consent to the full exploitation of their personal data.
This “pay or share everything” choice was deemed manipulative and a violation of voluntary consent principles by Brussels.
Both companies have announced they will appeal. However, even if the fines are reduced, the precedent is set: The DMA is no longer a looming threat — it’s now a working enforcement tool. This is a clear signal to all “gatekeepers” of digital ecosystems:
In Europe, the rules are now written not in Cupertino or Menlo Park, but in Brussels.
Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition, called this “a turning point for the protection of Europeans’ digital rights.» And if that’s true, this is only the beginning of a major realignment of Big Tech’s role in the global digital future.
