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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The European Commission Wednesday fined Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc. $571 million and $228.4 million, respectively, for breaches of their obligations under the Digital Markets Act. The commission found Apple breaching steering obligations under the Act, and Meta Platforms breaching obligations to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data.

 

In March 2024, the commission had opened a non-compliance probe into Apple's rules on steering in the App Store and the "pay or consent model" of Meta Platforms. Thereafter, in June and July, it informed the two companies of its preliminary view that they were in breach of the Digital Markets Act.

 

APPLE CASE

Under the Digital Markets Act, application developers distributing their applications through Apple's App Store should be able to inform customers, without charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers, and allow them to make purchases. The commission held that Apple had failed to comply with this obligation.

 

Due to a number of restrictions imposed by Apple, app developers cannot fully benefit from the advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store, the commission said. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers, it said. Apple had also failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate, the commission held.

 

In its decision, the commission asked Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from such non-compliant conduct in future. This includes adopting conduct that has an equivalent object or effect.

 

META CASE

Under the Digital Markets Act, gatekeepers must seek users' consent to combine their personal data between services. Those users who do not consent must have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative.

 

In November 2023, Meta Platforms had introduced a binary 'Consent or Pay' advertising model. Under this model, European Union users of Facebook and Instagram had to choose between consenting to the combination of personal data for personalised advertising or paying a monthly subscription for an ad-free service. The commission held that this model was not compliant with the Digital Markets Act, as it did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads' service. The model did not also allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data, the commission said.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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