TECH NEWS – The companies in question are not complying with the laws that apply in the European Union, and since we are likely to use at least one of the services provided by the three companies, the European Commission is likely to impose new fines.

The Commission has launched no less than five investigations against Google, Meta and Apple for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief, said that the solutions offered by the companies did not fully comply with the requirements of the DMA. So she is now investigating whether the three companies are complying with the law at all.

Google is also being investigated for favoring its own services in its search engine, while Apple’s iOS browser selection screen is under scrutiny. Meta doesn’t like the fact that targeted advertising is either paid for or consented to by users. Even Amazon is in the crosshairs, where they are investigating whether their own products are being prioritized in the store. The results of the study are expected within twelve months.

Meta has been given an extra six months to get Messenger ready for use with other messaging services, but the company is already working on that. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said: “We are not convinced that the solutions offered by Alphabet, Apple and Meta meet their obligations to create a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses. If our investigation concludes that there is a lack of full compliance with the DMA, the gatekeepers could face heavy fines”.

If found guilty, Google, Meta or Apple could be fined 10% of their annual global revenue, and up to 20% for repeat offenders. That’s a sum no tech giant can afford to ignore. Not even Google can.

Source: WCCFTech, EC