Apple and Meta fined almost $1 billion in digital cases

European Union watchdogs have fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros as they stepped up enforcement of the 27-nation bloc's digital competition rules. The European Commission imposed a 500 million-euro ($A896 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store. The commission, which is the EU's executive arm, also fined Meta Platforms 200 million euros because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today The punishments announced on Wednesday were smaller than the…