What just happened? The European Commission has just hit Apple and Meta with combined fines of almost $1 billion. It marks the first fines handed out by the Commission under its Digital Markets Act (DMA), and arrives just after President Trump threatened to levy tariffs against any countries that penalize US companies. Apple was handed the larger fine of 500 million euros ($570 million), while Meta has to pay 200 million euros ($228 million), making a combined total of 700 million euros, or $797 million. In addition to its $570 million fine, Apple has been slapped with a cease-and-desist order requiring it to make further product changes by June. If it fails to comply with this order, the Commission can fine it for every additional day it refuses to cooperate. The penalties come after a year-long investigation in which the Commission found that Meta forced Facebook and Instagram users to either pay a subscription fee to avoid ads or consent to their personal data being used for targeted advertising. In response to the Commission's findings, Meta has modified its ad approach in the EU, now offering unpaid users a version of the platforms with fewer unskippable, full-screen personalized ads. However, in a compliance report published on March 6, the company argued that it has "continued to receive additional demands that go beyond what is written in the law," despite taking steps to align with the DMA. The Commission is currently examining this model to determine if it complies with the rules. Apple, meanwhile, broke the DMA's steering rule. This requires gatekeepers – Apple, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, and Microsoft – to allow business users (like app developers or online sellers) to steer customers to offers or alternative distribution channels outside the gatekeeper's platform, without penalties or restrictions. // Related Stories There was some good news for the companies. The Commission has also closed an investigation into Apple's compliance with the DMA's rules on browsers and default apps following changes that it introduced. Moreover, Facebook's Marketplace will no longer be designated as a regulated service, so it will no longer fall under the DMA's remit. An Apple representative said it will appeal the decision, which it called "yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting" the company and forcing it to "give away (its) technology for free." "We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, none of which our users have asked for. Despite countless meetings, the Commission continues to move the goal posts every step of the way," the representative said. Meta said it also plans to appeal the ruling. "The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards," said Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer. "This isn't just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service. And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies." Apple and Meta must pay the fines within 60 days or risk further financial penalties. Under its rules, the Commission could have fined Meta up to $16 billion and Apple $39 billion based on their earnings last year.