European Commission begins antitrust probes into Apple, Meta, and Google
What's the story
The European Commission has launched five separate investigations into tech giants Apple, Google, and Meta.
The purpose of these probes is to evaluate the companies' adherence to the recently enacted Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust regulations.
This is a landmark moment as it's the first time the new rules have been used in an investigation by the European Commission.
The DMA was established to prevent large tech firms from dominating the market and was put into effect earlier this month.
Scenario
EU antitrust head voices concerns about Big Tech compliance
Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrust head, has voiced doubts about Apple, Google, and Meta's compliance with the DMA.
She declared, "We suspect that the suggested solutions put forward by the three companies do not fully comply with the DMA."
The Commission intends to closely examine Google and Apple's anti-steering rules in their app stores and Google's possible self-preferencing within its search engine.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Vestager's post
Today we open 1st #investigations under the #DMA.
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) March 25, 2024
We are concerned #Alphabet, @Apple & @Meta are not meeting their obligations e.g:
👉#Apple & #Alphabet still charge recurring fees to #app #developers
👉#Meta offers no real choice for users to opt out of #data combination
⬇️
Probe
Additional investigation areas for Apple, Meta, and Amazon
The European Commission is also scrutinizing Apple's browser choice screen for iOS and Meta's "pay or consent model" for ad targeting.
The pricing structure that Apple introduced for distributing apps outside of its App Store is also under review.
Moreover, the regulator is investigating whether Amazon is favoring its own products on its platform.
Meta has been given an extra six months to ensure Messenger can work with other messaging services.
Punishment
Possible repercussions for non-adherence to DMA
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has cautioned that if the investigation finds a failure to fully adhere to the DMA, gatekeepers could be hit with substantial fines.
Once the investigation wraps up, each company will be notified about what needs to be done to rectify concerns and what steps the regulator intends to take.
Companies that fail to comply could be penalized up to 10% of their annual global revenue under the DMA or even 20% in cases of "repeated infringement."