Apple and Meta won’t face immediate sanctions immediately for failure to meet obligations under the European Union’s digital rulebook, an EU spokesperson told Euronews.
In April, the European Commission (the executive arm of the EU) filed Apple and Meta with €500 million (about US$570 million) and €200 million (about $230 million) respectively (about US$570 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
When it comes to Apple, the EC — the executive arm of the European Union — claims that, under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases. The EC alleges that Apple fails 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. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers,” the EC says. “The company has failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate.”
As part of the decision in April, the EC has ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future, which includes adopting conduct with an equivalent object or effect.
The Commission gave Apple and Meta 60 days to bring their practices in line with EU rules. That grace period ends on June 26 after which they risk periodic penalty payments.
Now, however, a EU spokesperson tells Euronews that financial penalties will not be applied automatically but only after the Commission conducts a preliminary analysis and shares its findings with the two tech giants as part of an ongoing exchange process.
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