24 April 2025 | By Marten Männis
Policy
Apple and Meta fined under the DMA
On 23 April 2025, the European Commission issued its first formal non-compliance decisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing substantial fines on Apple and Meta for violating key obligations designed to foster competition and protect consumers in the EU’s digital markets. Apple was fined €500 million for breaching anti-steering obligations, while Meta received a €200 million penalty for its data consent practices. These landmark decisions will not only set the tone for future DMA enforcement but can also affirm the Commission’s readiness to act decisively against gatekeepers who fail to meet their regulatory responsibilities.
Under the DMA, designated gatekeepers — companies with entrenched market power in core platform services — are required to adhere to specific conduct rules. One such rule prohibits anti-steering practices that prevent business users, such as app developers, from directing consumers to alternative offers outside a gatekeeper’s ecosystem. The Commission found that Apple imposed technical and contractual restrictions on developers distributing apps via the App Store, effectively barring them from informing users about more favourable purchasing options outside the platform. This practice not only limited consumer choice but also obstructed developers’ ability to compete on equal footing.
Despite ongoing dialogue with the Commission, Apple failed to justify these practices as objectively necessary or proportionate. Consequently, the Commission ordered the company to eliminate the identified restrictions and to refrain from adopting any equivalent measures in the future. It is notable that the fine was calculated taking into account both the gravity and the duration of Apple’s non-compliance. According to Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, “Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers.”
In Meta’s case, the Commission scrutinised its “Consent or Pay” model introduced in March 2024. This model required users of Facebook and Instagram in the EU to either consent to the combination of their personal data for the purpose of personalised advertising or to pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free experience. The DMA mandates that gatekeepers must obtain freely given consent for the use of personal data and, crucially, must provide an equivalent alternative service for those who choose not to consent. Meta’s model failed on both fronts.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said that: “The Digital Markets Act is a crucial instrument to unlock potential, choice and growth by ensuring digital players can operate in contestable and fair markets. It protects European consumers and levels the playing field. Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms.” Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, added that: “The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behaviour. We have a duty to protect the rights of citizens and innovative businesses in Europe and I am fully committed to this objective.”
The Commission concluded that the binary choice offered by Meta placed undue pressure on users to consent, effectively undermining the voluntariness of that consent. Although Meta introduced a revised version of its ads model in November 2024—purporting to use less personal data—this model is still under review and was not part of the Commission’s current decision. The fine reflects the seriousness of the infringement and the period of non-compliance between March and November 2024.
In parallel to these non-compliance decisions, the Commission also ruled in favour of Meta in a separate matter, concluding that its online intermediation service, Facebook Marketplace, should no longer be designated under the DMA. Meta successfully demonstrated that Marketplace had fewer than 10,000 business users in 2024, thereby failing to meet the criteria as a core platform service. This shows that DMA enforcement can adapt based on the evolving market positions of digital platforms.
Consumer advocacy group BEUC welcomed the decisions, describing them as a positive step toward reining in the dominance of Big Tech and ensuring that the benefits of the DMA are felt by both consumers and smaller market players. Agustín Reyna, BEUC’s Director General, noted: “Apple and Meta have had ample time to comply with the Digital Markets Act but instead have delayed compliance and tried to twist the rules to their advantage. Consumers deserve better choices, and businesses need fairer market conditions in digital markets, so the Commission must enforce the law.”
The Digital Markets Act, which became fully applicable in March 2024, is designed to address structural issues in digital markets by imposing ex-ante obligations on gatekeepers. Unlike traditional competition law, which acts retrospectively, the DMA enables the Commission to intervene proactively to prevent anti-competitive behaviour before it harms the market. Companies designated as gatekeepers under the DMA are subject to strict timelines and reporting obligations and face significant penalties for non-compliance—up to 10% of their global annual turnover, and 20% in case of repeated violations.
Legal experts have noted that these first enforcement decisions serve as a critical precedent, both in terms of interpreting the DMA and signalling the Commission’s willingness to use its full arsenal of enforcement tools. They also pose practical questions for compliance teams and in-house counsel at large tech firms.
Moreover, these cases are likely to become test beds for judicial interpretation. Both Apple and Meta, who were disappointed by these rulings, are expected to challenge the decisions before the General Court of the European Union. Such appeals will provide further clarity on the substantive requirements of the DMA and the procedural fairness of the Commission’s approach. In the meantime, firms under DMA obligations would be wise to conduct thorough compliance audits and revise any business models that may not align with the DMA’s core principles.
It should also be noted that these two fines are much less than what the EU imposed on both companies in 2024 under competition law rules – €1,8 billion for Apple over alleged abusive app store rules, and €800 million for Meta for its ad service.
