Apple fined $851M in 2025 for privacy and antitrust violations

Apple faced a total of $851 million in fines across four separate enforcement actions in 2025, according to data compiled by Proton in its annual Tech Fines Tracker. This represents a significant decrease from the $2.1 billion in fines the company faced in 2024, but still highlights ongoing regulatory scrutiny of Apple's business practices.

Breakdown of Apple's 2025 fines

The fines were levied by regulators in multiple jurisdictions for different violations:

• February: $3.2 million fine from South Korea for using data illegally obtained without users' consent
• March: $162 million fine from France for violating privacy laws
• April: $571 million fine from the EU for breaching Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules for app stores
• December: $115 million fine from Italy for abusing its dominant App Store position

Context: Big Tech fines in 2025

When viewed in the broader context of Big Tech enforcement, Apple's fines appear relatively modest. The total $7.8 billion in fines issued to major tech companies in 2025 represents just under one month's revenue for these companies combined. Google faced the highest penalties at $4.2 billion, followed by Amazon at $2.5 billion and Meta at $228 million.

Proton's analysis reveals that if all fines were paid concurrently, it would take Apple just 3 days, 3 hours, and 28 minutes to pay off all four fines using its free cash flow. This calculation underscores the argument that current fine structures may not be sufficient deterrents for companies of Apple's scale.

Regulatory effectiveness questioned

Romain Digneaux, Proton's public policy manager, argues that the current fine-based approach to regulation is ineffective: "Clearly, fines are not working. If they were, after years of slapping down Big Tech with one enforcement action after another we'd see some sort of change. But instead, Big Tech is simply treating the fines as a cost of doing business, something expected and baked into company budgets."

This perspective is supported by continued non-compliance issues. Despite being fined 500 million euros in April for DMA violations, Apple has continued to face criticism for not fully complying with its obligations under the EU's Digital Markets Act.

The scale problem

While EU regulators have the authority to levy fines up to 6% of a company's total annual global revenue for privacy breaches, the actual fines imposed have typically been far lower. Proton argues this creates a fundamental mismatch between the scale of potential penalties and the economic realities of trillion-dollar companies.

The data suggests that for fines to be truly effective as deterrents, they would need to be substantial enough to impact company behavior and financial planning, rather than being viewed as an acceptable cost of doing business.

Looking ahead

The pattern of fines against Apple and other tech giants raises questions about the future of digital regulation. If financial penalties alone are insufficient to drive behavioral change, regulators may need to consider additional enforcement mechanisms, such as structural remedies or operational restrictions, to ensure compliance with privacy and competition laws.

For Apple, the challenge remains balancing its business model with increasing regulatory demands across multiple jurisdictions, each with their own legal frameworks and enforcement priorities.