EU fines US companies under Digital Markets Act
The EU has imposed massive fines on two US IT companies, with Apple being to pay 500 million euros and Facebook parent company Meta 200 million euros for violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the first time fines have been imposed under the DMA, which was introduced in 2022. Among other things, it obliges internet giants to open up their platforms to competitors. Europe's media back the ruling.
Europe as strong regulatory power
El País is proud of the EU:
“The EU has always been seen as a regulatory power whose rules are extended to the rest of the world thanks to the so-called Brussels effect: high legal standards that companies are bound to adhere to if they want access to a potential customer base of 450 million Europeans. ... The US tends to focus on protecting corporate freedom in its digital regulations without considering other aspects; China seeks to combine economic supremacy with control over its citizens. Europe, on the other hand, is trying to combine fundamental and consumer rights with a market economy and innovation. To maintain this vision, Brussels must stand firm and enforce its laws in times of peace and in times of trade war.”
Finally a tough stance
These fines could reignite the trade conflict with Trump, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung cautions:
“The basis for the fines is the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). ... For Trump, this legislation is just another example of how Europe puts US companies at an unfair disadvantage. ... So the Commission faces a dilemma. Although in recent weeks it has stressed again and again that the decisions in the proceedings initiated a year ago were taken strictly by the book and without political calculation, that does not mean that they were apolitical. ... In the end, the realisation will prevail that after its defensive course in the tariff dispute with Trump the EU has to get tough at some point.”
Big tech must play by the rules
Brussels must not give in to pressure from the US to spare the tech sector, warns The Irish Times:
“The EU cannot soft pedal its regulation of the sector either in terms of its competitive practices or its content controls. Indications that the Apple and Meta fines were delayed for political reasons do not send out a good signal. The EU's regulation must be balanced, and there may be a case to simplify them and cut needless red tape. But the big technology companies, who are earning major profits in Europe, need to play by the rules. European tech cannot be regulated by a Maga agenda.”