Apple and Google Cornered... EU Likely to Investigate 'Digital Markets Act Violations'

Apple and Google are expected to be the first targets of the European Union (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA) investigation. If violations are confirmed, large-scale fines will be inevitable.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Bloomberg reported on the 21st (local time), citing sources, that the EU Commission will soon announce plans to investigate Apple and Google's parent company Alphabet for DMA violations.

The Commission plans to focus on whether Apple and Google have complied with DMA regulations regarding the new commission policies and terms of use imposed on App Store developers. Sources added that Meta Platforms, which operates Instagram and Facebook, may also be subject to future investigations. The investigation is expected to be completed before November, when Margrethe Vestager, the EU Commissioner for Competition, ends her term.

Since the 7th of this month, the EU has become the first in the world to enforce the DMA, which regulates monopolistic practices by big tech companies, marking the start of a full-scale crackdown on big tech. The law designates platform operators above a certain size as "gatekeepers," requiring them to open their services to competitors and restricting the use of user personal data. The six companies designated as gatekeepers are Apple, Google Alphabet, Microsoft (MS), Meta Platforms, Amazon, and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. Violations can result in fines of up to 10% of annual revenue, and up to 20% for repeated violations.

In particular, the EU's pressure on Apple draws more attention as the U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The U.S. DOJ alleges that Apple operates a closed ecosystem that blocks competitors from accessing iPhone hardware and software, violating antitrust laws. Apple's stock price fell more than 4% compared to the previous session on the New York Stock Exchange on the same day, while Google Alphabet closed slightly lower.

Earlier this month, ahead of the DMA enforcement, the EU also imposed a larger-than-expected fine on Apple. The fine, imposed by the Commission for abusing its market dominance in the music streaming application market, amounted to a staggering 1.84 billion euros (approximately 2.7 trillion KRW), equivalent to 0.5% of Apple's global revenue.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.