EU Slaps Apple and Meta with Major Antitrust Fines Amid Tensions Over Global Trade Tariffs

In a significant regulatory move, the European Union has imposed major antitrust fines on two of Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies—Apple and Meta—issuing penalties totaling 700 million euros, or roughly $798 million. The EU announced on Wednesday that Apple would be fined 500 million euros ($570 million), while Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, would pay 200 million euros ($228 million). The action comes less than a month after former U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a plan for sweeping global trade tariffs, further complicating transatlantic tech and trade relations.

The fines, issued under the EU’s newly enacted Digital Markets Act, target practices the EU says have harmed both competition and consumer choice. Apple’s fine relates to long-standing restrictions within its App Store, which the European Commission claims unfairly prevent developers from telling users about alternative—and often more affordable—payment options outside of Apple’s platform. These alternatives typically do not incur the commission Apple charges on in-app purchases.

For Meta, the European regulators are targeting its use of personalized advertising. The fine stems from a period last year when Meta did not provide European users with an option to use Facebook or Instagram without being subject to data-driven, personalized ads. While Meta has since rolled out a subscription model in the EU that it says uses “less personal data,” European officials indicated this may still fall short of compliance with regional privacy rules.

The timing of the announcement has drawn particular attention, as EU regulators reportedly postponed unveiling the penalties following high-level discussions with U.S. counterparts last week. These meetings were held in the shadow of Trump’s April 2 announcement regarding new trade tariffs, which has put both sides of the Atlantic on edge as negotiations for a broader trade agreement continue.

U.S. tech giants, meanwhile, are pushing back against the EU's enforcement actions. Apple maintains that the fees it collects from developers are essential for funding the software development ecosystem that supports its iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. In a statement to Reuters, Apple criticized the EU’s position, saying the rules “undermine our products” and “force us to give away our technology for free.”

Meta echoed that sentiment, arguing that the penalties levied by the Commission represent what is effectively “a multi-billion-dollar tariff” on the company’s operations within the EU.

The regulatory crackdown comes as global tech firms face increasing legal pressure on multiple fronts. In the United States, a judge recently ruled that Google’s advertising empire violated antitrust laws, marking the second time in under a year that the company has been officially labeled a monopoly. Elsewhere in U.S. courts, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been defending the company in a high-stakes antitrust case that could potentially unravel Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, deals that were sealed more than ten years ago.

Despite mounting legal scrutiny, Trump has expressed optimism that a revised U.S.-EU trade agreement will be reached without much difficulty. Speaking earlier this month, he said, “EU officials want to make one very much,” referring to a new trade pact, and predicted it would be negotiated with “very little problem.”

As tensions mount and regulatory actions intensify, the tech world finds itself in a high-stakes crossfire—caught between evolving legal standards and the geopolitical undercurrents shaping global commerce.

By fLEXI tEAM