The US is siding with Meta and Apple. The Americans call the fines imposed by the EU on these companies for disregarding legislation ‘economic extortion’.
The US calls the fines imposed by the EU on Meta and Apple “a new form of economic exploitation”. The White House refers to sanctions of 500 million euros for Apple and 200 million euros for Meta respectively, imposed based on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The fines were confirmed last Wednesday.
The technology companies receive these sanctions because, after investigation by the European Commission, it was found that they do not comply with the DMA rules. The European legislation tries to curb the dominance of large players by imposing conditions that should guarantee a fair playing field.
Fine for Apple
Specifically, Apple must allow developers to inform customers about solutions and services that are for sale outside of Apple’s App Store, where prices are lower because Apple doesn’t receive a commission in that case. Those who offer an app for a streaming service must therefore have the right to link to a subscription page outside of Apple’s ecosystem.
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Apple opposes this and wants to keep transactions within its own ecosystem, where it collects the commission. This commission makes third-party services more expensive, and consequently makes Apple’s own alternatives more attractive. Apple knows that this is not allowed according to European legislation, chooses not to comply with the rules, and therefore receives a fine.
Fine for Meta
Meta disregards the European rules in a different way. According to European regulations, the company must ask users for permission to process and combine personal data between its various services. The company behind Facebook, Meta, and WhatsApp tried to circumvent the regulation through a false choice: users could either consent, or they could refuse but had to pay a substantial monthly subscription fee.
The paid model was eventually scrapped, but was in effect for a while despite being in conflict with current legislation. Meta has to pay a fine for this.
In both cases, the EU imposes fines because technology companies do not adhere to current and clearly communicated rules. With these rules, the EU wants to restore a competitive technology market as much as possible. Like all companies, technology firms must also comply with European rules if they want access to the immense and lucrative European market.
‘Trade Barrier’
The White House sees the European fines as extortion. The Trump administration thinks that the regulations are specifically designed to undermine American companies, stifle innovation, and allow censorship. A spokesperson speaks of a “barrier to trade and threat to free society” imposed by Europe.
It is worth mentioning that the White House makes the consideration about extortion and trade barriers in the midst of a tariff war where the country unilaterally imposes import duties on the entire world, often in violation of current trade agreements.
Also relevant in this story: while the US points the finger at the EU for supposedly unfair rules, it has called Meta to account for very similar abuse of power as what the EU punishes. In the US, a lawsuit is now ongoing against Meta due to an alleged monopoly.