The EU imposes fines that could shake the loop in relations with the US to Apple.

After multiple postponements, the European Commission has made public on Wednesday the first fines born in the heat of EU digital market law (DMA). And such sanctions, which could have geopolitical consequences of the very high order in the current current commercial war, affect two important “techies” giants based in the United States: Apple and goal. The apple company has been sanctioned with a fine of 500 million euros, while the sanction of the Facebook and Instagram matrix amounts to 200 million euros.

The DMA came out on its day of the Cascarón with the last goal of making the flourishing industry of the digital economy more fair and competitive. This rule, which entered into force in the EU more than a year ago, robuste the rights of consumers and small businesses against large technological corporations.

We are facing The first time that the European Commission imposes sanctions, protecting itself in the regulations collected in the DMA and such sanctions arrive at a particularly delicate moment in transatlantic relationships between Brussels and Washington.

The community executive chaired by Ursula von der Leyen has postponed the announcement of these sanctions in several causesS For fear that Donald Trump’s government will retaliate against the EU and there could be an escalation in the commercial war declared a few weeks ago by the White House.

The announcement of the sanctions to Apple and Meta has been postponed several times for fear of possible reprisals by Donald Trump

Apple has been sanctioned by the EU for preventing application developers from directing users to cheaper offers outside the App Store of the Apple company. This behavior constitutes, according to Brussels, a flagrant violation of the principles collected in the DMA.

In the case of Meta, the EU sanction is directly related to the model opened in autumn of 2023 by the company led by Mark Zuckerberga model that forces users to give their consent to the American multinational to compile their personal data or pay a payment subscription.

«Apple and Meta have breached the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of the companies and consumers of their platforms. As a result, we have taken firm but balanced measures to enforce the law against both companies, based on clear and predictable rules, ”says Teresa Rivera, vice president for a clean, fair and competitive transition from the European Commission.

The DMA would allow the European Commission to reach fines of up to 10% of Apple and Meta’s business volumealthough community sources suggest that in the calculation of the fines imposed on paths, factors have influenced factors that somehow mitigate the global amount of such sanctions (the fact that the norm has been in force, for example, for a little over a year). The Commission insists that “decisions have been adopted after a broad dialogue with affected companies” and that both Apple and Meta have been able to “exercise their defense rights.”

So much, The sanctions imposed on Apple and Meta could increase if both companies do not take measures to comply with the principles collected in the DMA within 60 days

In March 2024, the EU opened formal investigations against Apple and goal to assert the principles collected by the DMA, but The European Commission has repeatedly delayed the decision emanating from such investigations.

And the delay would have obeyed details of a technical nature but to political calculations. Within the European Union, it would have been discussed intensely during the last months of the most appropriate time to announce the result of investigations against Apple and Meta.

The European Commission would have been especially concerned that President Donald Trump would like. And that is why the announcement of the sanctions emanating from the DMA (which fully affect, after all, two companies from the United States) would have postponed several times.

After last week Brussels decided to delay for the umpteenth time the announcement of such sanctions (after the trip to Washington de Maros Sefcovic, Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Security of the EU, to explore an eventual commercial agreement with the United States), In Brussels these sanctions have finally decided to make public. The fact that the United States has decided to suspend its new and controversial tariffs for 90 days would have been contemplated by the Community Executive as an opportunity to finally reveal the result of its investigations against Apple and Meta.

In addition, several deputies of the Eurocamara would have also warned the European Commission that It cannot be delayed sin the the application of the norms currently in force in the EU by the negotiations currently in progress with Donald Trump.