Major tech giants such as Apple, Google and Facebook parent company Meta are said to have broken EU rules – the European Commission has opened proceedings against the companies. There is a risk of fines of billions of euros.
It concerns suspected violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the European Union (EU) has already started investigations. Insiders reported about the planned investigations a few days ago.
App stores must link to third-party offers
The European competition authorities want to investigate, among other things, the business practices of Apple and Google in their respective app stores. According to the DMA, companies must allow third-party software providers to inform their customers about offers outside the aforementioned app stores for free. Apple emphasized that the latest update to the App Store guidelines is, from the company’s perspective, DMA compliant.
Google also looks at the possible preference for its own offering in the results of internet searches. In addition, Meta’s new subscription model is being looked at, where users have to pay for an ad-free version of the online networks Facebook and Instagram.
Penalties of up to ten percent of global annual turnover
The DMA obliges large technology companies, among other things, to open their platforms to competitors. Violations can result in fines of up to ten percent of global annual turnover. According to its own statements, the EU wants to complete its investigation within twelve months.
Source: Krone
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