Big Tech fined more than $7 billion by EU in past two years

The Trump administration is increasingly on a collision course with the European Union over Big Tech fines.

Google, Apple and Meta are contesting fines from the EU over violations of the bloc’s antitrust and competition laws, which total over 6 billion euros, or $7 billion, since the start of 2024.

They’re an increasing bone of contention, as both companies and the White House say the fines reflect the bloc’s hostility to innovation, while the EU tells CNBC that its tough line is getting companies to make decisions that benefit consumers.

Six fines have been imposed since 2024:

• March 2024: Apple fined €1.84 billion under antitrust rules for abusing its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.
• November 2024: Meta fined €797 million under antitrust rules over practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace.
• September 2025: Google fined €2.9 billion under antitrust rules for anti-competitive practices in its advertising technology business.
• April 2025: Apple fined €500 million for failing to comply with “anti-steering” obligations. Meta fined €200 million under the Digital Market Act for requiring users to consent to sharing their data with the company or pay for an ad-free service.
• December 2025: X fined €120 million under the Digital Services Act for breaching transparency obligations.

“All companies doing business in the EU are accountable to the European people and should respect the rules meant to protect them,” a Commission spokesperson told CNBC, adding that fines would only relate to the conduct of firms’ operations in Europe that breach EU rules.

Donald Trump’s administration takes a different view.

It’s stepped up its criticism of the bloc, accusing it of over-regulating its tech firms and jeopardising Europe’s ability to benefit from the rise of AI.

In February, Trump signed a memorandum stating the U.S. would consider tariffs to “combat digital service taxes (DSTs), fines, practices, and policies that foreign governments levy on American companies.”

Fines against U.S. companies are the biggest source of friction on the economic relationship between the EU and the U.S., Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Jacob Helberg told journalists last week, Reuters reported.

It’s not a new point of tension; Helberg also said that the EU had fined U.S. tech companies more than $25 billion in the past two decades.

“If the European Union is going to participate in the AI economy…They’re going to need data centers, data and access to the United States AI hardware stack, and you can’t overregulate and move the goal post on regulations and hit companies with huge fines,” U.S. ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder told Ian King on CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on March 27.

When approached for comment on how EU Big Tech fines were impacting U.S.-Europe relations, a U.S. Department of Commerce spokesperson referred CNBC to a November interview with Secretary Howard Lutnick. “Let’s…