Regulatory authorities have been actively pursuing tech giants and penalizing them for law violations by being involved in practices that sustain monopoly and discourage healthy competition. This has been the case for Google, which has been facing legal trouble for quite some time. Apple and Meta seem to be in hot waters now, with the European Union pursuing these big companies for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). While the fate of the companies was to be decided in March, due to the shifting focus on tariff negotiations, the date had been pushed back. Now, the EU has announced that the decision will be given out in the coming weeks.
EU announces that the decision on the breach by Apple and Meta will be issued in the coming weeks
The European Union has been investigating Apple and Meta over the potential breaches of its Digital Markets Act (DMA) for quite some time. Although the decision was to be announced in March, amidst the ongoing global political tensions and growing focus on US tariffs and trade negotiations, the EU has pushed back its decision. The EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera shared that the ruling would be delivered in the coming weeks.
The European Commission has been pursuing both tech giants since March last year over their possible violations of the DMA Act. The Commission specifically focuses on curbing the dominance of big tech companies and encouraging competition by offering more options to users in the digital market space. According to various speculations and sources, Apple and Meta could potentially face minor fines for violating the act.
These modest penalties could also be attributed to the geopolitical tensions that have diverted attention and seem to be a dire focus currently. If the EU does levy a penalty, it could be the first strict enforcement of the new legislation and could potentially pave the way for future decisions. Both tech giants, especially Meta, have taken this delay as an opportunity to share their disapproval of the European Union's potential decision regarding compliance with the Digital Markets Act again.
Meta maintains that the regulatory framework is designed to portray major tech platforms in a bad light and is unfair. It also took the opportunity to emphasize its cooperation with the authorities. While the European Union is gearing up to deliver its ruling on the ongoing case in the coming weeks, Meta continues to disapprove of the allegations placed against it. This also highlights the ongoing friction between tech giants and regulators regarding how the digital market should operate.
