Meta Platforms Inc. is headed for another clash with the European Union after a €200 million ($232 million) fine failed to bring Facebook and Instagram into compliance with a tough new digital law.
The European Commission wrote to the social network giant last week, cautioning that Meta's pay or consent service — allowing ad-free services for a fee — needs further reworking, the Brussels-based EU executive told Bloomberg.
The procedural step paves the way for a formal EU warning and, eventually, periodic fines if Meta fails to appease the teams of Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera and her tech-policy counterpart Henna Virkkunen. Meta was slapped with its initial penalty in April for breaching the Digital Markets Act — which lays out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech firms.
Meta has only made “limited changes” to its offerings in order to ward off the threat of future Brussels fines, according to EU commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier. “We confirm that we have sent a letter to Meta on the remaining issues.”
A Meta spokesperson pointed to an earlier statement in which the company said the range of choices it offers EU citizens “goes well beyond” what is required under the DMA.
If the standoff continues, it's unlikely to end with a new wave of fines. An eventual appeal would put regulators' sweeping attempts to rein in the alleged abuses of Silicon Valley under the scrutiny of the EU courts.
In less than 12 months, Meta been served with EU penalties totaling nearly €1 billion. As well as April's €200 million fine, in November 2024 it was ordered to pay €798 million for tying its Facebook Marketplace service to its social network — something regulators said amounted to an abuse of dominance.
Under the EU's DMA, both Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google have also faced flak from regulators. Apple was hit with a €500 million fine earlier this year for allegedly violating the law with its App Store conditions, while Google has been served with a warning over its search and Play Store functions.
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