The European Union could levy a “modest” fine against Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), says a report from Reuters.
In 2024, the European Commission ruled that Apple violated the DMA’s anti-steering rules, while also deciding that Apple has not done enough to allow developers to deliver information about the lower prices outside of the official App Store.
In June 2024, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager warned that EU regulators would investigate Apple’s compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). She warned that Apple was facing a “number” of “very serious” issues with its DMA compliance in Europe and that the company’s compliance was “not what was expected of such a company.”
Apple claimed that some of the changes required by the DMA could result in risks to users and developers from malware, fraud, and scams.
While Apple did enable alternative app stores in the European Union last year, it set a new fee structure as part of the change, which resulted in complaints from developers and EU associations.
The Digital Markets Act empowers regulators to hit companies with a fine totaling up to 10% of their global annual sales. Reuters sources told it that the European Commission is not looking to hit companies with huge fines, but instead is looking to make sure that they comply with the DMA rules.
Considering that there has been a change in the European Commission’s leadership, and that U.S. President Donal Trump has threatened tariffs against countries hitting U.S. firms with fines, the EC could cut Apple some slack when it comes to fines. Reuters reports that a decision is expected sometime this month.
