The European Commission imposed the first DMA fines on 23 April 2025, finding that Apple breached the anti-steering obligation and that Meta breached the obligation to offer users a choice of a service using less personal data under the Digital Markets Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. Apple was fined EUR 500 million and Meta EUR 200 million. The Commission noted that these are the first non-compliance decisions adopted under the DMA.
Corporate INTL Newsroom · Competition & Antitrust
Commission Issues First DMA Fines Against Apple and Meta
By The Corporate INTL Newsroom · 24 April 2025
Apple: anti-steering
Under the DMA, app developers distributing through the App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to purchase. The Commission found that, due to a number of restrictions, developers cannot fully benefit from alternative distribution channels and consumers cannot fully benefit from cheaper offers. Apple failed to show the restrictions were objectively necessary and proportionate. It has been ordered to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from equivalent conduct. The Commission also closed its investigation into Apple's user choice obligations following Apple's engagement on a compliance solution.
Meta: consent or pay
Gatekeepers must obtain consent to combine personal data across services and offer users who refuse a less personalised but equivalent alternative. In November 2023 Meta introduced a binary model in which EU users of Facebook and Instagram either consented to data combination for personalised advertising or paid a monthly subscription. The Commission found that this did not provide the required choice and did not allow users to consent freely. The decision covers the period from March 2024, when the obligations became binding, to November 2024, when Meta introduced a new ads model that the Commission is still assessing.
Separately, the Commission decided that Facebook Marketplace should no longer be designated, as it had fewer than 10,000 business users in 2024.
What happens next
Apple and Meta must comply within 60 days or risk periodic penalty payments. The fines took into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance. The investigations were opened on 25 March 2024. The decisions mark the move from dialogue to formal enforcement under the DMA and will be watched by other gatekeepers whose compliance measures are under review. Decisions can be challenged before the EU General Court.
Sources
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