FACTBOX-European regulators crack down on Big Tech

Regulators said in July 2024 that Apple had agreed to open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals to settle an EU antitrust probe. Brussels fined Apple 1.84 billion euros in March 2024 for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store.

European regulators have launched a series of investigations into Big Tech in recent years.

Here are some of the actions taken: ALPHABET

The European Commission hit Alphabet's Google with a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.45 billion) antitrust fine on September 5 for anti-competitive practices in its lucrative adtech business. In September last year, Google won its challenge against a 1.49-billion-euro antitrust fine previously imposed for hindering rivals in online search advertising.

A week earlier, Google lost its fight against a 2.42-billion-euro fine by EU antitrust regulators years before for using its own price comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over smaller European rivals. Britain's antitrust regulator in September last year provisionally found Google had abused its dominant position in digital advertising to restrict competition. A month earlier, it started probes into its parent Alphabet and Amazon's collaboration with AI startup Anthropic.

France's competition watchdog said in March 2024 it fined Google 250 million euros ($291.55 million) for breaches linked to EU intellectual property rules in its relationship with media publishers. AMAZON

The European Union's General Court dismissed in November

a request by Amazon to scrap its designation as a platform subject to stricter requirements under EU online content rules. APPLE

A complaint to EU antitrust regulators, shared with Reuters ahead of its publication, by two civil rights groups over the terms and conditions of its App Store and devices hit the Cupertino firm in October 2025. In the same month, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority designated Apple and Google as having "strategic market status", giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition.

Apple was fined 500 million euros ($570 million) and Meta 200 million euros under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in April. Apple lost an appeal in March against a regulatory assessment that opens it up to stricter controls in Germany, following years of debate over its market position.

In September 2024, Apple lost the fight against an order by EU competition regulators to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland, as part of a larger crackdown against sweetheart deals between multinationals and EU countries. Regulators said in July 2024 that Apple had agreed to open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals to settle an EU antitrust probe.

Brussels fined Apple 1.84 billion euros in March 2024 for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store. META

The Commission opened on December 4 an antitrust investigation

into Meta over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in the WhatsApp messaging platform. The EC had fined Meta 797.72 million euros in November 2024 for abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace.

It also charged Meta in July 2024 for failing to comply with the DMA in its new pay or consent advertising model. MICROSOFT

The Commission in June 2024 charged Microsoft with illegally bundling its chat and video app Teams with its Office product. TIKTOK

The European Commission said in October that the Chinese-owned social media app and Meta breached their obligation to grant researchers adequate access to public data under the Digital Services Act (DSA) according to preliminary findings. TikTok was charged by the European Commission in May for failing to comply with the DSA's obligation to publish an advertisement repository that allows researchers and users to detect scam advertisements.

That marked only the second ruling by EU tech regulators following the introduction of the DSA, after Elon Musk's social media network X was charged with breaching its content rules last year. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Compiled by Charlotte Bawol, Alessandro Parodi, Olivier Cherfan, Paolo Laudani, Enrico Sciacovelli and Olga Sawczuk in Gdansk. Editing by Peter Graff, Bernadette Baum, Mark Potter, Rod Nickel and Matt Scuffham)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)