EU Hit Apple, Google Meta With Probes But Real Test Lies Ahead
- Firms must solve EU concerns during course of 12-month probe
- But companies can ultimately fight decisions at the EU courts
An Apple store in Berlin, Germany.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. were this week all hit by investigations under the European Union’s landmark new Digital Markets Act — plunging the future for some of their key services into uncertainty and running the risk of multi-billion dollar fines.
The DMA aims to nip potential abuses of monopoly power in the bud rather than traditional antitrust law, criticized for punishing firms often many years after they have crushed competitors. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, has raced ahead to test out its new powers.