The European Union is preparing to look into whether Apple and other major tech companies are doing enough to prevent online financial fraud.
Online fraud is a major problem for consumers, and one that the EU thinks big tech companies should do more to stop. As part of efforts to control and manage the influence of big tech in general, the EU is now looking into whether they should help police the Internet itself.
Regulators across Europe will be sending requests to companies, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, as well as Booking Holdings, about fraud prevention. The EU Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, confirmed the requests were heading out, under powers derived from the Digital Services Act.
"We see that more and more criminal actions are taking place online," said Virkkunen to the Financial Times. "We have to make sure that online platforms really take all their efforts to detect and prevent that kind of illegal content."
The request for information is a probe into the subject, but not a full investigation yet. However, the information that surfaces could lead to a formal inquiry and eventual fines.
In the case of Apple and Google, the EU is interested in how the two companies deal with fake applications in the App Store and the Google Play Store. This can include fake banking apps, which disguise themselves as the real thing and trick bank customers into revealing their private details.
Fake search results are also of interest, as well as how Booking.com deals with fake accommodation listings. With the increased development of artificial intelligence, there is also a fear that detecting fraud is becoming harder to accomplish.
Virkkunen insists that the losses from online fraud exceed 4 billion euros ($4.72 billion) annually across Europe.
The new fraud probe is the latest that Apple has had to deal with from the European Union.
In July, it seemed that Apple would escape having to pay daily fines for noncompliance with the Digital Markets Act over its App Store rules. This was due to Apple making changes to do with developer fees and anti-steering rules.
Apple has also been fined $570 million for alleged anti-competitive practices surrounding Apple Music.
Apple responded to the story via a statement shared with AppleInsider. It reads:
"As digital threats have evolved in scope and complexity over the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to address these challenges and protect users. Every day, teams across Apple monitor and investigate fraudulent activity and utilize sophisticated tools to stop bad actors.
Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to allow alternative app distribution and payments, despite warnings that this puts users at greater risk of fraud and scams.
While the regulator focuses on issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of investigation and fines, we will continue to advocate for the safety and security of our users."
Apple has also previously discussed its App Store fraud prevention in the past. This has included one press release from May 2025 claiming it had protected users from more than $9 billion worth of fraud across a five-year period.
