William Gallagher
The European Union has reportedly postponed fining Apple and Meta over alleged Digital Markets Act violations, specifically so the decision would not affect trade negotiations.
In January 2025, it was reported that the EU appeared to have put its planned rulings and fines against Apple on hold. It was partly because key EU staff were being replaced, but also because the European Commission was waiting to assess what the then-new Trump administration would do.
Subsequently, it was reported that the EU was planning to drastically reduce its fines against Apple and Meta, because of fears it Trump would impose retaliatory tariffs. Now according to the Wall Street Journal, the EU has delayed fines still further.
"We're currently working on the adoption of final decisions in the short term," said a spokesperson.
However, reportedly, the European Commission told at least one of the two companies that it would be imposing fines on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The Commission was to deliver cease-and-desist orders to both companies on that date.
However, this week EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, and separately Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Trump. Just ahead of the meetings, the EU is said to have decided to postpone announcing the fines, and a committee scheduled for Monday was also delayed.
It appears to have worked as Trump is now said to have told officials that he'd have "very little problem" agreeing a trade deal with the EU.
The EU is still expected to press ahead with fines and the cease-and-desist orders intended to make Apple and Meta further comply with the Digital Markets Act. However, there is no indication of when the EU will resume its plans.
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Marko Zivkovic
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
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9 Comments
Good stuff. But I know it’s hoping against hope that someone is able to get the eu to roll back the ridiculous made-up demands enabling these fines to begin with. The entire set of rules was aimed it disabling Apple’s business.
Amazing news. These EU laws are insane, only people who didn’t actually read into them think they are “good”
It is important that there is some boundary around how companies behave to restrict other services. For example, I agree that the inability to use a third party smartwatch and for it to be able to handle basic functions like messaging and calling should be encouraged - this doesn’t negatively impact users.