European Union punishment against Apple and Meta: Finally go to court!

In the eternal ping pong game about the regulation of the European Union of technical companies, we finally reach the end of the first sentence: Since the issues of European Digital Laws, European Union Commission and most American companies have been publicly back and forth. Fine notice with a penalty of 500 and 200 million euros against Apple and Meta is now being challenged – the European Union has thus thrown quarrel shoes. An argument in the court can eventually ensure more clarity whether the European Union Commission is actually attacking the Apple, Meta and the company, as they say-or what you can say in Brussels correctly: “So, dear friends, it does not happen.”

Malte Kirchner has been an editor in Heise online from 2022. Apart from technology, the question is how it changes society. His special attention is on the news of Apple. It is also related to development and podcast.

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In case of punished violations – Apple’s obstacles against alternative app stores and payment models and the idea of ​​paying users to conserve their data in an option – the status is so clear at first glance that the European Union is very low to fear. But it is also in the court whether the laws are proportional and whether the form is preserved. Therefore, it is not clear from the beginning that the European Union is strongly clear from this logic.

So far, this comparison of reality has only occurred as a very large platform for the classification of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Ticketok defended himself against his classification – and lost to the court. However, further provisions of DMA wait for judicial confirmation. The fact is that this did not happen because tech companies at least showed the outside world that they wanted to join the rules of the European Union.

American companies expect support

In the years of discussion about the regulation of digital space, the ball of the match is far from being played with a decision. The first response to Apple and Meta also leaves no doubt about this, however, apparently, there is less speculation on the help of judges than the dreams of winning the decisive victory in two other sports fields.

A playground is international politics. The fact is that the meta cuddles with the new US government are a development that was clearly recognizable at the beginning of the year. Apple’s boss Tim Cook also apparently has a small relationship with the White House, making it possible for him to receive tariff exceptions against China. Now the rhetoric, which is associated with discrimination against super-tariffs and subordinates against American companies, is included in the Horn of the new international trade policy in the United States. It seems more than the suspect whether the European Union may stop a thunderstorm with its low punishment from Washington – but according to the old rules of diplomacy, it has been explained that it is not called immediately.

Definition of freedom

Other sports grounds have long been serving Apple to Apple: This is a life of users’ sympathy. Regulation is presented as a threat to IT protection, as an entry into privacy and as a discussion of customers’ self -determination. In this context, the European Union guidelines appear as an unwanted intervention as a conservation-something that is contrary to the real interests of citizens. And surprisingly many voices on pure duties.

So it is anything, but agrees that the European Union policy is at the top, even if a court certifies its good manual work. The more challenge is whether Europe is sufficient enough to maintain its attitude towards the United States, which is similar to a bull in the yard of a school -now Europe is not shy about taking Europe like all -a -class class -all a classmate. And as a result, the question arises whether most of the citizens are convinced about the need for adequate regulation to bear this reaction, which can affect them and their everyday life.

(MKI)