Apple and Meta appeal DMA decisions that saw them fined €700 million

On Monday Apple and Meta confirmed that they have each filed appeals against earlier Commission breach findings under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) – a major enforcement which landed the pair of gatekeepers with a total of €700 million in fines.

In March, the iPhone-maker was fined €500 million under the EU's big tech rulebook after the EU's executive found it had not allowed developers to direct users to offers outside its own mobile app marketplace, a practice – known as "anti-steering" – that's illegal under the DMA.

"Today we filed our appeal because we believe that the European Commission's decision – and their unprecedented fine – go far beyond what the law requires," a spokesperson for Apple told Euractiv in a statement.

"The EC [Commission] is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users," Apple's statement also read.

In June, the tech giant introduced changes to its App Store in a bid to stave off further penalty payments from the Commission – which can apply daily fines for continued non-compliance.

"We implemented this [changes in June] to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the Court," Apple's spokesperson added.

Meta appeals 'pay or consent' decision

In March, the Commission also found that Meta had breached the DMA over its "pay-or-consent" advertising practices – a change the social media giant began applying to Facebook and Instagram back in November 2023.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Euractiv on Monday that the company filed its appeal against the DMA decision this morning.

Writing on its blog last week, the social media giant hit out at the Commission's DMA decision – claiming that its finding "is both incorrect and unlawful".

Meta adapted the ad model it offers in Europe during the Commission's DMA investigation – announcing in November 2024 that it would use less personal data to target ads at users who did not agree to pay the monthly fee to access ad-free versions of its social networks.

It has since claimed that this "less personalised" advertising model is sufficient to meet DMA requirements on obtaining user consent to use of their information for advertising – however the Commission has yet to confirm its views on Meta's revised ad model.

In June, Meta announced some further changes to its current pay or consent offer – tweaking  the wording and design flow that people see when they are asked to choose how to access its apps. The Commission has since referred to these changes as minor.

(nl)