EU to Levy ‘Modest’ Fine Against Apple for Violating Digital Markets Act
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The European Union is planning to levy a “modest” fine against Apple for violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a report from Reuters.
Last year, the European Commission ruled that Apple has not complied with the DMA’s anti-steering rules. The EC also decided that Apple hadn’t done enough to allow developers to provide information about lower prices that are available outside of the App Store.
In June of last year, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager warned that Apple’s compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) would be investigated by EU regulators. Vestager said at the time that the Cupertino company was facing a “number” of “very serious” issues with its DMA compliance in Europe, and that the iPhone maker’s DMA changes were “not what was expected of such a company.”
While Vestager told Apple not to discourage users from accessing third-party app stores, Apple has claimed that some of the changes required by the DMA could result in security risks for users that they would not have to face inside the safe harbor of the App Store, including risks to users and developers from malware, fraud, and scams.
Apple enabled alternative app stores in the European Union last year, allowing outside app stores to offer apps outside of Apple’s official App Store. However, it set a new fee structure as part of the change, resulting in complaints from several developers and EU associations.
Apple has updated its rules since receiving feedback from the EC and developers, and it updated its external linking rules in August, after the European Union expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s anti-steering policies.
App developers who distribute their apps in the European Union can keep up with the EU rules on Apple’s developer website, hopefully lessening any confusion over the changes that the company has made.
The Digital Markets Act empowers regulators to hit companies with a fine of up to 10 percent of their global annual sales. However, that doesn’t appear to be imminent at the moment. Reuters sources said the European Commission is more concerned with companies complying with the DMA than hitting them with huge fines.
Apple could get some slack from the European Commission, as there has been a change in the EC’s leadership, and we’ve seen United States President Donald Trump say he will impose tariffs on any countries that hit US companies with fines. This could lead to a lighter monetary penalty if a fine is imposed. Reuters reports that a decision is expected sometime this month.
The reason behind the expected small size of the fine (if any) is also said to be the relatively short duration of the alleged violations, as the DMA only came into force in early 2023, and Apple and other similar “gatekeepers” weren’t required to comply with these provisions until March 2024.
This is not the first time Apple has been threatened with fines from the European Union over the Digital Market Act. In June 2024, we saw reports that the EU was planning to hit Apple with the first fines for not following the DMA, specifically over Apple’s anti-steering measures. Despite the threats, the penalties were never imposed.
