The EU is set to impose minimal fines on Apple and Facebook-owner Meta next week under its Digital Markets Act, as Brussels seeks to avoid escalating tensions with US President Donald Trump.
According to people familiar with the decisions, the iPhone maker is expected to be fined and ordered to revise its App Store rules, following an investigation into whether they prevent app developers from sending consumers to offers outside its platform.
Regulators will also close another investigation into Apple, which was focused on the company’s design of its web browser choice screen without any further sanctions.
Meta will also be fined and ordered to change its “pay or consent” model, which forces users to either consent to data tracking or pay a subscription fee for an ad-free experience of its products.
Under the DMA, companies can face penalties of up to 10 percent of their global turnover, which could result in billions of dollars for both companies.
But the European Commission is aiming for fines that fall far below that threshold, three officials said, as the bloc’s digital rule book is relatively new and the decisions could still be challenged in court.
The moves come as Brussels attempts to enforce the DMA, which was designed to curb tech giants’ dominance of the digital marketplace, while avoiding a direct clash with Washington.
The focus of the new commission, which took office in December, is also more on the compliance of Big Tech companies with the law than on potential high fines in the billions of Euros, officials said.
