By Marek Majewsky

Brussels - The EU Commission is imposing fines of 500 million and 200 million euros on the US tech companies Apple and Meta. According to the authority, the companies have violated European digital law. The penalties can still be challenged in court.

Apple has already announced that it will legally challenge the fine. Specifically, according to the Commission, the US companies are alleged to have violated the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The regulation is intended to ensure, for example, that a dominant market position does not put other providers at a disadvantage. This is the first time that the Commission has imposed penalties under the DMA.

Apple believes that the Commission's approach is unfair. It is being forced to give away technology for free. "We have invested hundreds of thousands of development hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law," Apple said. Despite countless meetings, the Commission keeps postponing targets.

The penalties could have an impact on the current tensions between the US and the EU. The Republican chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Andrew Ferguson, recently said at an event that it looks as if the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a form of taxation on American companies.

The EU Commission has repeatedly imposed high penalties on US tech companies in recent years.

However, the Brussels authority always emphasizes that proceedings against American tech companies are not related to the current tensions with Washington over the customs dispute. At the end of last week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen brought into play levies on advertising revenue for large online platforms independently of the proceedings.

According to the EU Commission, the proceedings are about Apple preventing app developers from making offers available to consumers outside of the app store. Users cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as the company prevents developers from informing them directly about such offers.

According to the Commission, Meta's fine is due to its so-called pay-or-consent model. The Brussels authority had already announced last July that it was of the opinion that this was not compatible with EU law.

The focus is on the fact that users of Facebook and Instagram have to choose between a monthly fee for an ad-free version and a free version with personalized advertising. Users are not given sufficient opportunity to choose a service that uses less personal data.