Apple, Meta fined $798 million by EU after Donald Trump threats spark tensions

Following US President Donald Trump's vows of harsh retaliation, Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. received comparatively minor European Union fines of €700 million ($798 million) for violating strict new antitrust laws for Big Tech. The EU regulators imposed the sanctions — €500 million against Apple and €200 million against Meta — under its Digital Markets Act, which includes a list of dos and don'ts for Silicon Valley behemoths.

The consequences are significantly smaller than prior penalties under traditional EU competition law and are likely to be interpreted as an attempt to avoid further aggravating Trump, who recently imposed a swath of tariffs on global businesses. He has particularly identified the EU's technology restrictions as the type of non-tariff trade barrier that his so-called reciprocal tariffs are designed to address.

According to the European Commission, Apple failed to allow developers to link out of its App Store in order to sell outside of the company's marketplace. Meta's business strategy for ad-free services on Instagram and Facebook also violated the technology law, which allows regulators to fine companies up to 10% of their global annual revenue.