The European Commission is expected to fine Apple and Meta this week for violating the EU’s digital competition rules, thrusting Big Tech into the escalating trade war between the United States and the European Union.
The EU executive is due to announce the results of three yearlong investigations into breaches of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, two into Apple and one into Meta. Both companies are expected to receive fines — the first issued under the DMA — with announcements that could come as late as the end of the week.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump declared in a memo that the DMA — which lays out rules for how tech companies should operate on the European market — would face scrutiny and could lead to reciprocal tariffs.
The line is gathering traction.
“This is not just about fines — it’s about the Commission kneecapping successful American businesses simply because they’re American, while letting Chinese and European rivals off the hook,” said a person close to the Meta investigation, who, like other people quoted in the article, was granted anonymity to speak in confidence.
The U.S. is expected to move ahead with its next wave of trade tariffs on April 2 and may target EU regulations that it considers to be nontariff barriers, including the DMA.
While the DMA decision is technically overseen by the Commission’s competition directorate, the wider trade environment has factored into the EU’s planning on the communication and timing of the DMA decisions, said a person briefed on the matter, with the rollout being planned centrally.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič traveled to Washington, D.C. last week with Björn Seibert, a top aide to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to hold discussions on the escalating dispute between the U.S. and the EU.
Apple met with Šefčovič’s head of Cabinet, Bernd Biervert, earlier this month to lobby the Commission on the company’s views and discuss the DMA, according to a meeting readout.
Spotify, one of the leading campaigners against the Apple rules under investigation, also met with DG TRADE officials earlier this month to discuss the digital law.
However, while the threats from Washington are a factor, they are not the most important consideration when setting fines, according to a person familiar with the Commission’s thinking. Other factors, particularly the novelty of the regulation, are more important, they said.
The EU executive is expected to dole out a fine to Apple for its rules on developers that prevent them from communicating offers to iPhone users, according to people briefed on the matter. In parallel, a separate investigation into Apple’s browser default settings is expected to be wound down, as changes made by the iPhone maker last year have earned a positive nod from competing browser developers.
Meta will face a fine for imposing terms and conditions on users for the use of their personal data that are in breach of the DMA.
Commissioner Teresa Ribera, who is in charge of the Commission’s competition department, will travel to Washington this week to attend an annual global gathering of antitrust lawyers. Ribera will meet her counterparts at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday.
Despite the trade tensions, EU officials have emphasized that there continues to be a broad alignment between the U.S. government and the EU on the need to carry on with enforcement against Big Tech.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will go to trial next month in a case against Meta while the government’s monopolization lawsuit against Apple has continued under Trump.
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