The European Commission is reevaluating its investigations into tech giants Apple, Meta and Alphabet’s Google, focusing on cases launched since March 2024 under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The review may narrow or modify the scope of investigations and may temporarily halt decisions and fines while technical work continues.
The DMA, introduced in 2022, is one of the EU’s toughest laws targeting Big Tech’s market dominance. It imposes rules on global technology platforms and can impose fines of up to 10% of annual revenue for violations.
The reassessment comes amid calls from technology companies for US President-elect Donald Trump to challenge EU regulatory scrutiny.
Sources told the newspaper that although Trump’s presidency was a factor in the review, it was not the impetus behind the process. Regulators are awaiting political guidance before making final decisions on the ongoing cases against Google, Apple and Meta.
Meta recently ended its fact-checking program in the US as part of a broader shift in political content moderation, signaling CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s intent to improve relations with the Trump administration. Separately, Bloomberg News reported that the European Union is considering expanding its investigation into Elon Musk’s social media network, regarding possible violations of content moderation rules.
The results of these reviews could reshape technology regulation in the EU, with potential implications for the operations of major technology companies globally.