The White House — image credit: White House
The White House has described the European Union’s fining of Apple and Meta as extortion and called the Digital Markets Act discriminatory.
When the EU fined Apple $570 million for alleged non-compliance with its Digital Markets Act (DMA), it came after reports the Union was delaying its fines in order to appease Trump. It was also reported that the amount of the fine was far lower than the DMA allows, for the same reason.
It does not appear to have worked, however. Trump has yet to comment beyond his 2024 remarks about not letting the EU take advantage of US companies.
However, according to Reuters, the White House has specifically responded to the new fines.
“This novel form of economic extortion will not be tolerated by the United States,” said a White House spokesperson. “Extraterritorial regulations that specifically target and undermine American companies, stifle innovation, and enable censorship will be recognized as barriers to trade and a direct threat to free civil society.”
The White House also described the DMA as discriminatory. In this specific case, the EU claims that Apple has failed to fulfil its obligations toward App Store developers, and allowing them to direct buyers to alternative sources.
Announcing the fines on Apple and Meta, the EU’s new antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said that the two companies had “fallen short.” She said that the fines “send a strong and clear message… [The DMA] projects European consumers.”
Apple is disputing the fine and reportedly plans to appeal. The EU’s fines have previously appeared to be discriminatory against the US, with the European Commission repeatedly siding with EU-based Spotify over spurious complaints against its rival Apple Music.
Neither Apple nor the EU have responded to the White House’s comments. It’s not clear yet what the White House intends to do next.
Whether or not it actually steps in to deny the EU’s fines, which are due in 60 days from the ruling, it is likely that the trade tensions between the US and Europe will continue to escalate. The EU has already described Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs as bullying, and insisted that it will not back down from fining Apple.
