The European Union is gearing up to investigate tech giants Apple, Meta Platforms, and Alphabet’s Google for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which could result in significant fines, according to sources familiar with the matter.
These investigations by the European Commission are expected to be announced in the coming days, potentially consecutively, with decisions likely to be made before EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s tenure concludes in November. Breaches of the DMA could lead to fines of up to 10 percent of the companies’ global annual turnover. The DMA, a landmark regulation, mandates that companies provide users and competitors with more options to ensure fair competition.
The Commission has refrained from commenting on the matter, while Apple, Meta, and Google have yet to respond to requests for comment.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Vestager raised concerns about Apple and Meta’s new fees for their services potentially impeding users’ benefits under the DMA, indicating that this aspect would be part of any investigation. She also criticized tactics employed by certain companies to discredit rival products or services, warning against such practices.
Vestager expressed her intention to expedite DMA investigations, aiming for decisions to be made within six months, contrasting with the traditional lengthy timelines of EU antitrust probes. This accelerated pace is intended to allow users and app developers to swiftly experience the effects of the new regulations.
Rivals of the implicated companies have voiced frustrations to the EU competition regulator, arguing that the measures introduced by these companies to adjust their core platform services are insufficient.
Under the DMA, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon.com, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, are required to permit users to uninstall pre-installed software or apps and obtain users’ consent for data usage across their services or personalized advertising. Additionally, they are prohibited from favoring their own services or products over those of competitors on their platforms.
The imminent DMA investigations into Apple, Meta, and Google were initially reported by Bloomberg.
