Apple could become first company to be prosecuted under EU digital market law

Financial Times reports that the European Commission is preparing to sue Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act, which would mark the first time that the company has been prosecuted under the Digital Markets Act.

Apple set to be first Big Tech group to face charges under EU digital law
https://www.ft.com/content/31a996d5-b472-4357-953e-ace078494604

Apple set to be first Big Tech group to face charges under EU digital law | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/apple-set-to-be-first-big-tech-group-to-face-charges-under-eu-digital-law/

In the EU, the Digital Markets Act will come into effect in 2023.

The 'Digital Markets Act' that regulates large companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta and imposes fines of up to 10% of turnover receives final approval from the European Council - GIGAZINE

The Digital Markets Act defines major platforms and the companies that provide them as 'gatekeepers' and imposes strict regulations, and any violation of this law will result in a fine of up to 10% of the total global turnover of the previous year. At the time of writing, the six companies designated as gatekeepers are Apple, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.

In March 2024, the European Commission announced that it was investigating Apple, Alphabet, and Meta for suspected violations of the Digital Markets Act.

European Commission launches investigation into Apple, Meta and Google for alleged violation of digital market law; if found to be malicious, fines of up to 20% of global sales could be imposed - GIGAZINE

Sources told the Financial Times that the European Commission found that Apple had not complied with its obligations to allow app developers to 'fly' users to services outside the App Store without charging them a fee.

The charges against Apple are expected to be announced within the next few weeks, though the timing may vary. If found to have violated the Digital Markets Act, Apple could be fined up to 5% of its average daily global revenue, or roughly $1 billion.

The regulator has only issued preliminary findings, so Apple may be able to correct its actions.