Exclusive | European Union to slap Meta with fine up to $1B or more for breaching strict antitrust rules: sources

The European Union is set to slap Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta with a fine that could stretch to $1 billion or more for allegedly violating its strict antitrust rules, The Post has learned – setting up a possible showdown with President Trump, who has compared the EU’s penalties to “overseas extortion.”The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust watchdog, is expected to conclude that Meta is not in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, sources close to the situation told The Post on Monday.The landmark law took effect in 2023 and applies tough competition rules on Meta and six other companies deemed internet gatekeepers.The fine is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars and potentially more than $1 billion, the sources said.The EU’s probe into the Facebook and Instagram parent company is expected to finish up as early as this week, with an announcement about the commission’s enforcement action to follow immediately after, the insiders added.EU officials are also expected to hit Meta with a “cease-and-desist” notice, essentially informing the company of what it must change to get into compliance, according to the sources.Representatives for Meta and the European Commission did not immediately return requests for comment.Apple is also in the EU’s crosshairs and a fine against the iPhone maker could be announced this week or next week, the sources said.Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Apple and Meta were likely to face “modest fines” for DMA breaches.EU antitrust chief Theresa Ribera previously said a decision on enforcement actions for both companies was coming in March.Aside from Meta, companies deemed “gatekeepers” under the DMA include Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking.com, TikTok parent ByteDance and Microsoft.

EU regulators and other proponents say the law prevents tech giants from crushing smaller rivals through anticompetitive behavior.Under the law, Big Tech companies can be fined up to 10% of their glo...