European Union watchdogs fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros Wednesday as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc’s digital competition rules. The European Commission imposed a 500 million euro ($571 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

The EU has concerns about Apple’s restrictions impacting App Store developers and Meta’s “pay or consent” advertising model.

The European Union on Wednesday fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros each for breaching the bloc's digital competition laws. Officials said that Apple failed to comply with so-called "anti-steering" obligations under the Digital Markets Act.