Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. face the risk of potentially hefty fines as the European Union opened a full-blown investigation into the firms’ compliance with strict new laws reining in the power of Big Tech.
The European Commission said Monday that Apple and Google’s app store rules will be targeted in the first probes under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, how Google search results might unfairly preference its own services and how Apple may make it harder for users to choose alternatives to its Safari browser.
New subscription fees for Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms will also be targeted by the probe, which could hit firms with fines of up to 10% of global revenue, or up to 20% in the case of repeated breaches.
“We suspect that the suggested solutions put forward by the three companies do not fully comply with the DMA,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said. She added that the probes involve “serious cases.”
Apple, Alphabet, and Meta Stocks dropped more than 1% in morning trading.