The European Union continues its longstanding battle against Big Tech, targeting companies like Apple and Google over allegedly unfair practices. Apple has been warned by the EU about its App Store breaching digital competition rules, making it susceptible to billions in penalties. This conflict spans years and covers a variety of issues including data privacy and disinformation.

Brussels has fined tech firms over 10 billion euros for dominating market positions. Google received the heftiest single antitrust fine of over four billion euros in 2018 for its Android mobile operating system. More recently, Apple got hit with a 1.8-billion-euro penalty for stifling access to cheaper music streaming services.

In the realm of data privacy, Ireland has been the toughest enforcer, issuing heavy fines such as a 345-million-euro penalty to TikTok and a 1.2-billion-euro fine to Meta for unlawful data transfers. Luxembourg previously fined Amazon 746 million euros in 2021.

Efforts to compel tech firms to pay more taxes in Europe have seen limited success. Notably, the European Commission ordered Apple to pay Ireland 13 billion euros in back taxes, but EU judges overturned the decision, citing insufficient evidence of rule-breaking—a ruling the Commission is contesting.

The fight extends to disinformation and hate speech, with the Digital Services Act compelling companies to address these issues or face fines. The EU has started investigations into Facebook and Instagram for election-related misinformation and cautioned Microsoft about AI-generated falsehoods violating the DSA.

Regarding news compensation, the EU introduced neighboring rights for print media to demand payment for content used by online platforms. France has served as the testing ground, and both Google and Facebook have agreed to compensate some French media for their articles.

Source: Dominance, data, disinformation: Europe’s fight with Big Tech.