EU Open Non-Compliance Investigations into Apple, Google and Meta Under DMA

The European Commission is opening up five non-compliance investigations into Apple, Google, and Meta. The investigation is said to analyze how each company is complying with the latest Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The European Union announced that two investigations are being brought to the table for both Apple and Google, as reported by The Verge. The remaining investigation lies solely on Meta. In regards to Apple, the EU writes that it is investigating “Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari.” Similarly, the investigation into Google seeks to analyze the company’s “rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search.” As for Meta, the regulators are looking into the “pay or consent model.”

It’s said that the Commission aims to conduct its investigations over the next 12 months. During this, the regulators will look at the measures of each company and identify if they are complying with the obligations of the DMA. For instance, as the new DMA was introduced, Apple was forced to allow sideloading. The investigation will determine whether Apple’s fee structure and terms may diminish the impact and effect of its obligations.

“We suspect that the suggested solutions put forward by the three companies do not fully comply with the DMA,” the EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “We will now investigate the companies’ compliance with the DMA, to ensure open and contestable digital markets in Europe.”

If any company is found to be infringing on the DMA, the European Commission can dole out a fine of up to 10 percent of the company’s total worldwide turnover. However, fines can go up to 20 percent in the event of repeated infringement. It’s also said that the Commission can introduce “additional remedies” like “obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it.” The regulators are also able to ban the company from additional services that impact its non-compliance.