European regulatory bodies have initiated a series of investigations into large technology firms in recent years. The following are some of the actions that have been taken: Alphabet In December, the European Commission announced it had opened an antitrust investigation into Google, owned by Alphabet, examining whether its use of online content from web publishers and content from the YouTube platform within its artificial intelligence business breaches EU competition rules. On September 5, the European Commission fined Google €2.95 billion (approximately $3.46 billion) for anti-competitive practices in its advertising technology business. In September 2024, Google appealed a €1.49 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU for hindering competitors in online search advertising and ultimately won its case. A week prior, Google lost its appeal against a €2.42 billion fine issued years earlier by EU antitrust authorities, which was related to Google leveraging its own comparison shopping service to gain an unfair advantage over small and medium-sized rivals in Europe. In September 2024, the UK's antitrust regulator preliminarily found that Google had abused its dominant position in the digital advertising sector to restrict competition; the previous month, the same body had launched an investigation into Alphabet and Amazon.com concerning their collaborations with AI startup Anthropic. In March 2024, France's competition authority fined Google €25 million for alleged violations of EU intellectual property rules in its dealings with media publishers. Amazon.com Germany's Federal Cartel Office has prohibited Amazon.com from setting price ceilings for online retailers on its German e-commerce platform. It also, for the first time, reclaimed millions of euros from the US company, stating the sum represented gains from anti-competitive behavior. In November 2024, the EU General Court dismissed Amazon.com's challenge, upholding its designation as a platform subject to strict regulation under EU online content rules. Apple In December 2024, Italy's competition authority stated it had fined Apple and two of its subsidiaries €98.6 million for alleged abuse of a dominant position in the mobile applications market. In October 2025, two civil rights organizations filed a complaint with EU antitrust regulators regarding terms related to Apple's App Store and its devices. That same month, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority determined that both Apple and Google hold "Strategic Market Status" and was granted powers to require specific changes from the two firms. In April 2025, under the Digital Markets Act, Apple was fined €500 million and Meta Platforms, Inc. was fined €200 million. In March 2025, Apple lost an appeal against an assessment by a German regulator that would subject the company to stricter controls in Germany. In September 2024, Apple lost its appeal against an EU regulator's order to pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes, as part of an EU crackdown on preferential tax agreements. In July 2024, regulators stated that Apple had agreed to open its tap-to-pay mobile system to competitors, settling a related EU antitrust investigation. In March 2024, Brussels fined Apple €1.84 billion for suppressing competition in the music streaming market. Meta Platforms, Inc. In December 2024, the European Commission launched an antitrust investigation into the AI features of WhatsApp, the instant messaging app owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. In November 2024, the European Commission fined Meta Platforms, Inc. €797.72 million for abusing its market position to favor its Facebook Marketplace service; in July 2024, it had accused the company's newly introduced "pay or consent" advertising model of violating requirements under the Digital Markets Act. Microsoft In June 2024, the European Commission accused Microsoft of illegally bundling its Teams chat and video app with its Office software suite. TikTok On February 6, 2026, EU tech regulators accused the social media application of violating online content rules through addictive features, stating it may need to alter its product design or face fines. In October 2025, preliminary findings from a European Commission investigation indicated that TikTok and Meta Platforms, Inc. had failed in their obligations under the Digital Services Act by not providing researchers with sufficient access to public data. In May 2025, TikTok was accused of failing to meet its obligations under the Digital Services Act regarding the publication of an ad library and facilitating the identification of scam ads for researchers and users; it subsequently avoided fines by pledging to enhance transparency. X On February 3, 2026, French police raided the offices of social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, with prosecutors ordering the billionaire to submit to questioning as the scope of the related investigation continued to widen. On January 26, 2026, the European Commission stated it would investigate X's Grok chatbot to determine if it was disseminating illegal content, such as manipulated pornographic images, within the EU. In December 2025, EU tech regulators fined X €120 million for breaching online content rules, marking the first sanction issued following the implementation of the Digital Services Act.
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