The European Commission has fined Meta and Apple nearly €700m and ordered them to comply with the bloc’s new digital rules. But beneath the legalese lies a geopolitical power play that could redraw the tech world’s map – and drag the UK into the crossfire.
It was the shot that’s been coming for months. On Wednesday, the European Commission finally pulled the trigger on Meta and Apple, issuing €700m in fines and cease-and-desist orders under its Digital Markets Act. Meta’s ad model and Apple’s App Store both came under fire. But the real story here isn’t just about regulation. It’s about politics. Big politics.
In theory, the fines – €500m for Apple, €200m for Meta – are small change for companies with trillion-dollar valuations. But the real muscle-flexing came with the enforcement orders. Meta must stop forcing users to choose between paying a subscription or surrendering their data. Apple must allow app developers to link to alternative purchasing options. And both firms must comply within 60 days or face daily fines of up to 5% of global revenue.
All of this is part of the EU’s broader attempt to loosen the grip of so-called “gatekeeper” platforms and level the playing field for smaller competitors. But timing is everything – and this move arrives just as EU-US trade tensions are nearing boiling point.
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Silicon Valley v Brussels – who’s regulating whom?
Meta’s reaction was, predictably, one of outrage. “This is a multibillion-dollar tariff disguised as a regulation,” said Joel Kaplan, Meta’s global affairs chief.
Apple, too, cried foul, warning that the decision would harm users and force it to “give away our technology for free.”
But the drama doesn’t stop at corporate statements. According to multiple reports, Meta has been actively lobbying the Trump administration to push back – hard. And that lobbying appears to be working.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties.” The name says it all. The administration has accused Brussels of using regulations as non-tariff trade barriers and threatened retaliatory tariffs on the EU and UK if their tech laws aren’t revised.
It’s not a new complaint – American tech giants have long argued that Europe’s regulatory environment is less about fairness and more about jealousy. But this is the first time such complaints have been so directly linked to state policy. Zuckerberg, who has recently found common ground with Trump (scrapping diversity initiatives, cozying up to UFC’s Dana White), now appears to be cashing in his chips.
Caught in the crossfire – the UK’s awkward dilemma
And then there’s the UK, which may soon find itself collateral damage in this geopolitical scuffle. Despite no longer being part of the EU, the UK’s own Online Safety Act and Digital Markets Bill have drawn ire from across the Atlantic.
According to a White House memo, the UK could face tariffs if it doesn’t roll back laws that Washington sees as harmful to American firms. For British ministers, the optics are appalling – foreign interference in domestic legislation. But there’s a twist: Trump may (accidentally or otherwise) have a point.
As one British columnist put it, “Trump’s meddling may save us from genuinely terrible laws.” Critics argue the UK’s digital regulation stifles innovation and entrenches the dominance of existing players, rather than opening up the market. Whether that’s true or not, it makes for a more awkward conversation when the threats are coming from a president who’s aligned with Silicon Valley billionaires.
So, who’s winning this round?
The EU insists its decisions are apolitical. A Commission spokesperson said the timing had “nothing to do with trade negotiations” and that the decisions were taken “when they were ready.”
But few are buying that. The fact that no press conference was scheduled – and that key commissioners were out of the country – only added to suspicions that Brussels is walking a tightrope between enforcement and escalation.
For now, Apple and Meta will appeal. The Trump administration is preparing new tariffs. And the UK, somewhere in the middle, must decide whether to stand its regulatory ground or make concessions to keep Washington onside.
This isn’t just a regulatory dispute. It’s the front line of a new kind of trade war – where the weapons are laws, the battleground is data and the stakes are who gets to shape the future of the internet.
