Apple, Meta Fined as EU Presses Ahead With Tech Probes (yahoo.com) 30
Apple was fined 500 million euros ($570 million) on Wednesday and Meta 200 million euros, as European Union antitrust regulators handed out the first sanctions under landmark legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech. From a report: The EU fines could stoke tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to levy tariffs against countries that penalise U.S. companies. WSJ adds more details: The commission also issued cease-and-desist orders that could have a bigger impact than the fines. One order targets Apple's App Store and the other takes aim at Meta's use of personalized ads -- important revenue streams for each company.
[...] The EU's action against Meta focuses on the company's effort to get users to agree to seeing personalized ads on Instagram and Facebook -- its main source of revenue. The commission ordered Meta to stop requiring users to either agree to those ads or pay for a subscription. It said it was still evaluating whether a "less-personalized ads" option that Meta introduced last fall complies with that order, raising the specter of further changes.
The Apple case deals with the company's App Store rules. The commission said Apple had failed to comply with an obligation to allow app developers to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative ways to purchase digital products.
[...] The EU's action against Meta focuses on the company's effort to get users to agree to seeing personalized ads on Instagram and Facebook -- its main source of revenue. The commission ordered Meta to stop requiring users to either agree to those ads or pay for a subscription. It said it was still evaluating whether a "less-personalized ads" option that Meta introduced last fall complies with that order, raising the specter of further changes.
The Apple case deals with the company's App Store rules. The commission said Apple had failed to comply with an obligation to allow app developers to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative ways to purchase digital products.
Re:Fine monthly (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe the EU can just have a regularly scheduled monthly fine for the "Mag 7" companies.
Well if those companies are going to regularly violate rules/laws, then I'd say that's a "fine" idea.
Re: (Score:3)
You can not avoid breaking laws because the laws are onerous, ambiguous, conflicting, and market-breaking.
Citation needed.
What do you honestly expect Apple to do? Limit the number of iPhones they ship to Europe to remain under thresholds? This is a matter for the US Administration to wrangle with. Europe should not be punishing American companies because it has no real tech sector to speak of. No one wanted Nokia phones anymore.
Not relevant to anything.
Don't feed the bot saloomy (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
My experience has been different. For whatever reason, nobody ever held a gun to my head and ordered me to do business in Europe or else.
As a result, even though I completely ignore EU laws, I also fail to violate them, because I did not ever opt in to the huge, complex, strategic decision to sell to Europeans.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You can not avoid breaking laws because the laws are onerous, ambiguous, conflicting, and market-breaking.
Of course you can. Evidence: The majority of companies who do.
What do you honestly expect Apple to do?
Follow the law. Duh.
The question you should be asking is to yourself: Why, exactly, are you so fine with certain companies breaking laws all over the place?
Re: Fine monthly (Score:4, Interesting)
Or, and hereâ(TM)s a wild idea, the companies could comply with the law if they want to keep making money from EU customers?
Re: (Score:3)
or... These companies could pull out of the EU. This would be preferable. If the goal is to foster a competitive environment, then the EU could build competing offerings.
Re: (Score:2)
These companies could pull out of the EU. This would be preferable.
Would it? I doubt the consumers agree.
If the goal is to foster a competitive environment, then the EU could build competing offerings.
In a competitive environment, "the EU" will not have to build competing offerings. Some other business will do it. Isn't that how capitalism is supposed to work? The EU is only trying to make capitalism function sustainably, not become communist.
Re: Fine monthly (Score:4, Insightful)
You can always tell republicans in these threads. Sure, give up billions in sales because you don't like following consumer protection laws. I'm sure the share holders will love that idea.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
This is literally what the EU does. Fines escalate for repeated non-compliance with laws.
Re: (Score:3)
Trump is such a "great" deal maker and business man, if he would have just invested his money from daddy he would be richer today. https://www.forbes.com [forbes.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Come on, dude. For almost anyone else, owning a casino is essentially a license to print money. And he went bankrupted one.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: Fine monthly (Score:1)
So? (Score:2)
U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to levy tariffs against countries that penalize U.S. companies...
U.S. President Donald Trump has levied tariffs on unpopulated islands. I'm sure the EU cares more than those islands do, but I'm also sure that it cares less than the President imagines. And Europe cares less and less with each passing week.
When you tariff everything and everyone in sight, and you do it in a punitive way, people start to become immune. They suck it up, find other trading partners, and get on with life. This is already happening in much of the world. Trump is steadily making America - as a c