EU Regulators Fine Big Tech Billions, Launching Broad Crackdown

European regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of major technology companies, launching numerous investigations and levying substantial fines, totaling billions of euros, for anti-competitive practices. The European Commission has been at the forefront of these efforts, targeting industry giants such as Google, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Alphabet's Google received a €2.95 billion ($3.45 billion) fine on September 5 for anti-competitive conduct within its adtech business. This penalty adds to previous sanctions, including a €2.42 billion fine for unfairly leveraging its price comparison shopping service. Notably, Google successfully appealed a prior €1.49 billion fine. Apple has also faced significant regulatory action. In March 2024, the company was fined €1.84 billion for App Store restrictions that disadvantaged music streaming competitors. Furthermore, in July 2024, Apple agreed to open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals to resolve an EU antitrust probe. The company also lost a significant legal appeal concerning €13 billion in back taxes owed to Ireland. Meta was fined €797.72 million in November for practices that favored its Facebook Marketplace. Meanwhile, Microsoft was charged in June of the previous year for illegally bundling its Teams application with its Office suite. Microsoft remains under investigation for its security software practices. These regulatory actions are part of a wider European Union initiative, which includes new legislation such as the Digital Services Act. This act places greater responsibility on tech companies to address illegal content on their platforms.