EU Delayed Punishing Apple, Meta Just Before Trade Talks Started
Officials postponed an announcement initially planned for this week
The European Union recently delayed penalizing Apple and Meta Platforms, temporarily avoiding a conflict with the Trump administration during a week that saw the bloc ramp up its push for a trade deal with the U.S.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, had initially planned to announce cease-and-desist orders targeting the tech giants on Tuesday and had informed at least one of the companies of that timing, people familiar with the matter said. Both companies could have also been slapped with fines.
The decision to postpone the announcement was made shortly before EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met with U.S. officials in Washington on Monday, for his first in-person talks since President Trump announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs. In addition, this week Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Trump, who said he would have “very little problem” making a trade deal with the EU.
The rulings are still expected to go ahead, and it isn’t immediately clear how long the delay might last.
Asked Tuesday about the cases, a commission spokesman told reporters no dates had been announced but technical work had been completed. “We’re currently working on the adoption of final decisions in the short term,” the spokesman said.
The commission said Friday that it doesn’t comment on its internal planning.
The delay represents a brief reprieve for Meta META -0.17%decrease; red down pointing triangle Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta executives had pressed U.S. trade officials to fight the expected order. Trump has complained about EU tech regulations and threatened earlier this year to respond with tariffs.
Zuckerberg defended the company this past week in a U.S. Federal Trade Commission trial that could end up forcing Meta to sell valuable pieces of its business empire.
European officials say they won’t water down their tech regulations in response to U.S. pressure. But some lawmakers in the European Parliament have questioned whether the cases have become political as the EU seeks to negotiate a deal with the U.S. on trade.
The Meta and Apple AAPL 1.39%increase; green up pointing triangle cases both relate to alleged breaches of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, a law that seeks to make it easier for smaller companies to compete with their big tech rivals. The commission opened investigations in March 2024 and issued preliminary findings in both cases last summer.
The cases carry a potential fine of up to 10% of the companies’ global annual revenue, though people familiar with the matter have said they expect fines would be much lower. The cease-and-desist orders, which target business practices, are expected to have a bigger impact on the two companies than any potential fines.
A spokesman for Meta referred to earlier comments that its concern isn’t only about fines. “It’s about the commission seeking to handicap successful American businesses simply because they’re American, while letting Chinese and European rivals off the hook,” the statement said.
The commission says it enforces the bloc’s laws equally for all companies that operate in the EU.
The Meta case relates to whether the company should be forced to allow users to use Facebook and Instagram for free without seeing personalized ads, a key source of revenue for the company.
The EU said last year that Meta’s policy of requiring users to choose between buying a subscription or allowing Meta to use their data for targeted advertising didn’t comply with the Digital Markets Act. In an effort to appease regulators, Meta last fall introduced an alternative that allows users to see “less personalized ads” without buying a subscription.
A separate case against Apple deals with the iPhone maker’s App Store rules, which the commission has previously said prevent app developers from freely directing users to alternative ways to make purchases.
The commission has said Apple restricts how developers can communicate with users and charges fees for facilitating transactions outside the App Store in a way that goes beyond what is necessary.
Apple referred on Friday to its previous comments on the case. It has said that developers who use the App Store benefit from Apple’s proprietary technology and other tools.
Last month, a committee of EU member state representatives approved a plan to order both companies to comply with the Digital Markets Act. The committee was due to reconvene Monday to approve issuing fines, but that meeting was postponed, some of the people familiar with the matter said.