European regulators clamp down on major tech firms

European authorities are intensifying their scrutiny over large technology companies with multiple investigations underway.

Apple was hit with a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for restricting competitors like Spotify from offering alternative payment methods outside the App Store.

Actions by European regulators include:

- The EU imposed a $2 billion fine on Apple on March 4, marking its first EU antitrust penalty, in response to a 2019 Spotify complaint. Apple plans to appeal.

- An EU court advisor recommended upholding Google’s $2.7 billion EU fine on January 11, imposed in 2017 for favoring its shopping service in search results.

- The EU hinted that Microsoft's over $10 billion investment in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, might trigger EU merger regulations.

- EU officials in June suggested Google might need to divest part of its adtech division over anti-competitive practices.

- The EU is assessing Microsoft's proposal to separate Teams from Office as it investigates the bundling of both services.

- In September, the EU identified 22 key tech services, including those of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance, and demanded compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules.

- Meta and ByteDance contested their "gatekeeper" designation under the DMA; ByteDance's appeal was rejected in February.

In the UK, the media regulator requested an investigation by the CMA into Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud service dominance. The CMA's findings are expected by April 2025.

In France, antitrust authorities raided Nvidia's offices and criticised Apple for potentially misusing its market position in advertising. Concerns were also raised over the legality of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin crypto project’s data practices.

In Germany, Google agreed to alter its data practices to settle an antitrust case, offering users more control. The German data watchdog is investigating Worldcoin's use of biometric data.

In Italy, Apple faced probes over its app market position, Meta over music rights on its platforms, and TikTok for allegedly allowing harmful content. ChatGPT was temporarily blocked but has since been reinstated.

In the Netherlands, Apple’s appeal will be lodged against a €50 million fine for not adhering to App Store regulations set by the Dutch competition authority.