Apple faces largest fine in history: EU rubs hands

After weeks of quiet, the battle over the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is back on the front page in Brussels. The European Union has returned from its pre-election mini-vacation stronger than ever, announcing a possible lawsuit against Apple that could be historic. In fact, the fine that the tech giant could face will be the largest ever introduced.

Cause? The European Union is firmly convinced that Apple breaks DMA on a key partition. Moreover, the commission has just launched a thorough investigation to determine whether Apple Store Commission For large developers, they are offensive or not.

And how can we read Financial TimesApple charges around 50 cents per download from third-party applications and stores. In fact, according to the commission’s analysts, it is one of the company’s most important sources of income, so an attack on it could lead to a sharp drop in turnover.

Well, according to several people close to the matter, Brussels is exploring the possibility file a lawsuit against Apple this week put an end to abuse of developers.

The largest fine in history for Apple

If for any reason Apple is found guilty, the fine it faces could be up to 10% of your global annual turnover. Knowing that your income in 2023 was approximately $383 billiona tenth sets the possible sanction at approximately $38 billion.

Apple now not only denies that this practice is abusive, but also that it has time to complain, provide its documentation and negotiate with the European Union. In reality, as a rule, Big Tech They end up stopping – or changing – the activity for which they are being punished, pay a handsome sum, and the EU is happy.

At that time The European Union has launched an investigation to determine whether you ultimately sue Apple, although you must first ensure there are sufficient grounds to initiate a dispute of this magnitude.

Microsoft is also in the spotlight

Of course, Apple isn’t the only one at the forefront. It shares a position with Microsoft, which is also accused of violating the Digital Markets Act through its Teams video calling service.

In fact, Brussels suspects that the company is using its great influence to merge Teams with other video services and monopolize the video conferencing market. The EU, like Apple, believes that there is anti-competitive behavior and could sue Microsoft this week.