Shares in Apple, Facebook parent Meta, and Google parent Alphabet dipped in Monday trading following the announcement of the European Union’s sweeping new probe of the tech giants.
The three companies saw a combined $45 billion shaved off their market capitalizations by Monday’s market close. Apple took the biggest hit, losing $22 billion. Meta was the second-biggest loser, taking a $16 billion loss. And Alphabet saw a smaller but still significant $7 billion drop in value.
The EU is investigating whether Apple, Meta, and Alphabet are in compliance with its new antitrust law, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets six of the biggest tech companies classified as “gatekeepers” in the industry. The DMA aims to make digital markets fairer and rein in the tech giants’ dominance.
More specifically, Google is facing probes over whether its search engine unfairly promotes its own search services — such as Google Shopping and Google Flights — over rival services. Both Google and Apple are being probed over whether their app stores allow app developers to “steer” customers to offers outside of their stores.
It was the second time in less than a week that Apple made headlines for being targeted by regulators over potentially anti-competitive practices. The Department of Justice sued Apple last week, alleging that it violated antitrust law by creating a monopoly in the smartphone market. Apple stock stabilized the day after that news broke, but it suffering again Monday after the renewed focus on its regulatory compliance.
More on the EU probe and the DOJ’s suit against Apple
The EU is investigating Apple, Google, and Facebook under a sweeping new tech law
The DOJ sued Apple in a big antitrust case for abusing its power with the iPhone and App Store
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Apple stock is stabilizing — but Tesla faces a worse fate
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