| The European Commission has been very busy investigating what it sees as Big Tech’s anticompetitive practices under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU’s landmark digital antitrust law. These are laying the groundwork for what can actually sting companies, especially those with massive resources and teams of lawyers: fines. The DMA sets out a high ceiling for these fines, up to 10% of the company’s annual global turnover for ‘gatekeepers’ first infringements. These are firms with a dominant or unique position in the market, offering core platform services, such as search engines or app stores. Regulators have set a high ceiling for possible fines under the DMA, in force since November 2022, but have yet to enforce them. The list of gatekeepers, who are subject to such fines, was announced in September 2023. A similar landmark law on content moderation, the Digital Services Act, outlines fines up to 6%, whereas the Artificial Intelligence Act sets the ceiling at 7%. So far, there have been no fines under the DMA. The most recent tech antitrust fine is €1.84 billion for Apple’s treatment of music streaming providers from March. The iPhone maker abused its dominant position through its App Store, steering users away from music streaming services, stated the Commission when announcing the fine in March. The company has appealed the fine in the Court of Justice of the EU, contesting its definition as a ‘gatekeeper’, as well as the finding that these so-called anti-steering provisions are abusive. Still, the €1.84 billion fine, is far below the maximum 10% of turnover, that the DMA and general antitrust rules allow for. Apple’s 2023 revenue was $383.3 billion (€354.1 billion) in 2023, so making it possible to apply for a potential fine of up to €35.1 billion. | 