US labels EU fines for Apple and Meta as ‘economic extortion’
The US government has criticised the European Union ‘s recent fines against tech giants Apple and Meta. They labeled the fines a “new form of economic extortion” and a threat to civil liberties, and vowed not to tolerate such actions. The White House labeled the EU Commission’s approach a trade barrier, reported German news website Deutschlandfunk.
The European Commission fined Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for alleged violations of the Digital Markets Act. Apple was accused of preventing developers from offering alternatives to its App Store, while Meta was accused of violating rules regarding the use of personal data on its platforms Facebook and Instagram.
European officials defended the penalties, stressing that even powerful companies must abide by the law. They stressed that the intention was not to spark a technology war, but rather to enforce EU law.
Digital rights activists welcomed the decision as a positive step to hold tech giants accountable. However, concerns remain about whether the EU Commission’s arguments will stand up to legal challenges.
This is the first time the Commission has imposed fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple plans to appeal the decision, arguing that it is being unfairly forced to give away its technology for free. The company claims it has invested significant resources in complying with the DMA and criticises the Commission’s shifting goals.
The potential impact on US-EU relations is a concern, as some US officials see the DMA as a form of tax on American companies. However, the EU Commission maintains that this proceeding is unrelated to current trade tensions.
The DMA rules entered into force in November 2022 with a final deadline of March 2024 to apply them.
Meta and Apple will likely not have been surprise by the sanctions but it did present an opportunity to see how well the Trump Administration can deal with Europe’s approach to Big Tech. Given the experience to date with GDPR we can expect a lengthy appeals process followed by a rexamination of the imposed penalties. The decisions themselves are unlikely to be reversed.
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