{"id":18332,"date":"2025-06-11T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T08:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/?p=18332"},"modified":"2025-06-05T15:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T15:49:27","slug":"apple-y-meta-ley-de-mercados-digitales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/apple-y-meta-ley-de-mercados-digitales\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple and Meta in the crosshairs: Brussels accuses tech giants of breaching the Digital Markets Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission has taken a firm stance by declaring that Apple and Meta have failed to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The consequences were swift: <strong>a fine of \u20ac500 million for Apple and \u20ac200 million for Meta<\/strong>. But what exactly are the breaches that led to these penalties?<\/p>\n<h2>What is the DMA?<\/h2>\n<p>The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a European Union regulation aimed at ensuring equitable and contestable digital markets. It was approved on September 14, 2022, and came into force on November 1, 2022, although its substantive provisions have been applicable since May 2, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The DMA seeks to regulate the power of &#8220;gatekeepers,&#8221; which are the <strong>large digital platforms that control access to essential services for businesses and users<\/strong>. Its primary purpose is to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prevent gatekeepers from abusing their dominant position to harm smaller competitors and emerging companies, thereby ensuring fair competition.<\/li>\n<li>Guarantee that users have the freedom to choose between different services and are not locked into a specific digital ecosystem.<\/li>\n<li>Create an environment in which companies can innovate and compete on a level playing field, without fear of being driven out of the market by gatekeepers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are Apple and Meta&#8217;s breaches?<\/h2>\n<p>In Apple&#8217;s case, the European Commission has determined that Apple has been preventing app developers from freely informing users about alternative purchasing options outside the App Store. Additionally, it hinders the installation of third-party app stores. Brussels considers these restrictions unnecessary and disproportionate. Essentially, <strong>Apple does not allow developers to fully leverage alternative distribution channels, nor do consumers have access to more affordable offers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the issue with Meta lies in its &#8220;consent or pay&#8221; model. The European Commission believes that this model does not offer a genuine alternative for users who do not want their personal data combined for personalized advertising. In other words, <strong>it does not allow for the free exercise of the right to consent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Big Tech adaptation to comply with regulations<\/h2>\n<p>Both companies are obligated to make significant changes to their practices to comply with the DMA.<\/p>\n<p>In Apple&#8217;s case, this involves removing the technical and commercial restrictions that prevent developers from informing about alternative offers outside the App Store.<\/p>\n<p>In Meta&#8217;s case, despite introducing a new version of its personalized advertising model in November 2024, the European Commission is still assessing whether this new option meets the requirements of the DMA. The imposed fine refers to the period prior to this modification.<\/p>\n<h2>Key sanctions under the Digital Markets Act<\/h2>\n<p>The DMA is a powerful tool that seeks to ensure fairness in digital markets. The penalties for non-compliance can be severe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fines of up to 10% of the company&#8217;s total annual worldwide turnover.<\/li>\n<li>In the event of repeated infringements, fines may increase to up to 20% of the company&#8217;s total annual worldwide turnover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As for the next steps, <strong>Apple and Meta have a deadline of 60 days to comply with the European Commission&#8217;s decisions<\/strong>. Failure to do so will result in periodic penalty payments. The Commission will continue to collaborate with both companies to ensure they comply with the DMA.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the DMA has put Apple and Meta in the spotlight. These first decisions of non-compliance set an important precedent and demonstrate that the European Commission is willing to take forceful measures to ensure that large technology companies comply with the rules and offer users fair and transparent options.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cyp_post_formulario\"><h2>Contact Us<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpcf7 no-js\" id=\"wpcf7-f3074-o1\" lang=\"es-ES\" dir=\"ltr\" data-wpcf7-id=\"3074\">\n<div class=\"screen-reader-response\"><p role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\"><\/p> <ul><\/ul><\/div>\n<form action=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332#wpcf7-f3074-o1\" method=\"post\" class=\"wpcf7-form init wpcf7-acceptance-as-validation\" aria-label=\"Formulario de contacto\" novalidate=\"novalidate\" data-status=\"init\">\n<fieldset class=\"hidden-fields-container\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7\" value=\"3074\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_version\" value=\"6.1.5\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_locale\" value=\"es_ES\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_unit_tag\" value=\"wpcf7-f3074-o1\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_container_post\" value=\"0\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_posted_data_hash\" value=\"\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wpcf7_recaptcha_response\" value=\"\" \/>\n<\/fieldset>\n<div class=\"campo_nombre\" style=\"width:100%\"> <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-name\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required datos-contacto2\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Name\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"your-name\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"campo_telefono\" style=\"width:100%\"> <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-phone\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-tel wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-tel datos-contacto2\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Phone\" value=\"\" type=\"tel\" name=\"your-phone\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"campo_email\" style=\"width:100%\"> <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-email\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-email wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-email datos-contacto2\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Email\" value=\"\" type=\"email\" name=\"your-email\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"campo_asunto\" style=\"width:100%\"> <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-asunto\"><input size=\"40\" maxlength=\"400\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required datos-contacto2\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Subject\" value=\"\" type=\"text\" name=\"your-asunto\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"campo_mensaje\" style=\"width:100%\"> <span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"your-mensaje\"><textarea cols=\"40\" rows=\"10\" maxlength=\"2000\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-textarea wpcf7-validates-as-required datos-contacto2\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" placeholder=\"Message\" name=\"your-mensaje\"><\/textarea><\/span><\/div>\n<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-hidden\" value=\"\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"cyp_form_url\" \/>\n<input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-hidden\" value=\"cyp_zonaweb\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"zonaweb\" \/>\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap recaptcha\" data-name=\"recaptcha\"><span data-sitekey=\"6LfbCuUpAAAAAGu5f0__hms_y9Kscc_NCNdDGnEJ\" class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-recaptcha g-recaptcha\"><\/span>\r\n<noscript>\r\n\t<div class=\"grecaptcha-noscript\">\r\n\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api\/fallback?k=6LfbCuUpAAAAAGu5f0__hms_y9Kscc_NCNdDGnEJ\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"310\" height=\"430\">\r\n\t\t<\/iframe>\r\n\t\t<textarea name=\"g-recaptcha-response\" rows=\"3\" cols=\"40\" placeholder=\"Aqu\u00ed la respuesta de reCAPTCHA\">\r\n\t\t<\/textarea>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/noscript>\r\n<\/span>\n<div style=\"width:100%\">\n<p class=\"form-input-check\" style=\"color:#444444 !important;padding:0px !important;margin:0px !important;font-size:12px !important;margin-bottom:15px !important\">\nBy clicking on \"Send\" you accept our <a href=\"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> - <a href=\"javascript:\/\/\" class=\"cyp_legal_popup_ingles\">+ Info<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"form-input-check\" style=\"color:#444444 !important;padding:0px !important;margin:0px !important;font-size:12px !important\">\n<span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"checkbox-173\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox wpcf7-exclusive-checkbox\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item first last\"><label><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"checkbox-173\" value=\"\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\"><\/span><\/label><\/span><\/span><\/span> I agree to receive outlined commercial communications from LETSLAW, S.L. in accordance with the provisions of our <a href=\"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> - <a href=\"javascript:\/\/\" class=\"cyp_legal_popup\">+ Info<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_col-sm-12 botton-datos-contacto\"><input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Send\" \/><\/div><input type='hidden' class='wpcf7-pum' value='{\"closepopup\":false,\"closedelay\":0,\"openpopup\":false,\"openpopup_id\":0}' \/><div class=\"wpcf7-response-output\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission has hit the nail on the head by finding Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":18334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18332"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18333,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18332\/revisions\/18333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}