European Union watchdogs fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros Wednesday as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc’s digital competition rules.

The European Commission imposed a 500 million euro ($571 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

The commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, also fined Meta Platforms 200 million euros because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.

  • Neptunian@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    21 hours ago

    Small fines for how huge these companies are. My mega wealthy Chinese father-in-law was fined 2 billion yuan for tax evasion and money laundering as an individual…

      • cabbage@piefed.socialOP
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        21 hours ago

        My bet would be tax evasion and money laundering. ;)

        It’s hard to wrap one’s head around just how freaking rich the mega wealthy are. The 1% is not even the enemy at this point, they are closer to most of us than they are to the billionaire class.

        • wewbull@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          21 hours ago

          I was more meaning “on what scale?”. I assume he wasn’t a few hundred short.

          • Neptunian@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            21 hours ago

            A few billion yuan. As he’s well connected politically he managed to get away with just this fine (which is not even that much relative to how much money he made out of the shtick). No prison time or anything. Paid the fine and moved on as if nothing happened.