European Union regulators are taking steps to rein in Google and Apple  on antitrust charges, even as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to hit the bloc with tariffs for alleged “overseas extortion” of America’s tech giants.

On Google

The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, said Wednesday that it found Google parent company Alphabet in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — a landmark law aimed at tackling tech competition issues — with its Search and Google Play products.

The bloc accused Google Search of treating Alphabet’s own services more favorably compared to rival ones — a practice known as “self-preferencing,” which is not permitted under the DMA.

The EU also said Google Play, Alphabet’s mobile app store, prevents app developers from freely steering consumers to alternatives.

Google, in response to the EU’s actions Wednesday, said they threaten to hurt consumers and businesses. The firm gave the example of a change it made to search results to comply with the DMA that diverts traffic to intermediary platforms, which it said has resulted in higher costs for consumers.

“The Commission’s findings require us to make even more changes to how we show certain types of Search results, which would make it harder for people to find what they are looking for and reduce traffic to European businesses. This is, quite simply, misguided,” Oliver Bethell, Google’s EMEA director for competition, said in a blog post.

On Apple 

The the European Commission adopted two decisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) specifying the measures that Apple has to take to comply with certain aspects of its interoperability obligation.

Interoperability enables a deeper and more seamless integration of third-party products with Apple's ecosystem. Interoperability is therefore key to opening up new possibilities for third parties to develop innovative products and services on Apple's gatekeeper platforms. As a result, a wider choice of products will be available to consumers in Europe which are compatible with their Apple devices.

The Commission is assisting Apple in its compliance by detailing the measures needed for enabling interoperability with iOS for third-party connected devices and by streamlining the process put in place by Apple to handle future requests for interoperability with iPhone and iPad devices.

Connected devices

The first set of measures concerns nine iOS connectivity features, predominantly used for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones or TVs. The measures will grant device manufacturers and app developers improved access to iPhone features that interact with such devices (e.g. displaying notifications on smartwatches), faster data transfers (e.g. peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections, and near-field communication) and easier device set-up (e.g. pairing).

As a result, connected devices of all brands will work better on iPhones. Device manufacturers will have new opportunities to bring innovative products to the market, improving the user experience for consumers based in Europe. The measures ensure that this innovation takes place in full respect of users' privacy and security as well as the integrity of Apple's operating systems.

Effective process for interoperability requests

The second set of measures improves the transparency and effectiveness of the process that Apple devised for developers interested in obtaining interoperability with iPhone and iPad features. It includes improved access to technical documentation on features not yet available to third parties, timely communication and updates, and a more predictable timeline for the review of interoperability requests.

Developers will benefit from a fast and fair handling of their interoperability requests. The measures will accelerate their ability to offer a wider choice to European consumers of innovative services and hardware that interoperate with iPhones and iPads.

The final measures set out in the two specification decisions follow an extensive engagement with Apple and input provided by third parties as part of the public consultation, launched on 18 December 2024.

Next Steps

The specification decisions are legally binding. Apple is required to implement the specified measures in accordance with the conditions of the decisions.

The specification decisions set out the timing for the implementation of the specified measures and the steps that Apple must take.

As always, these decisions fully respect Apple's rights of defense and remain subject to independent judicial scrutiny.

In a separate action, the Luxembourg Administrative Tribunal decided to reject Amazon’s appeal and upheld the CNPD's original decision. This means that the fine imposed for GDPR infringements will stand, and Amazon will need to comply with the corrective measures ordered by the CNPD. Amazon must pay a fine of US$812 million.