In this extra episode of The Sound of Economics, Bruegel’s Bertin Martens and Fiona M. Scott Morton explain the EU’s first fines under the Digital Markets Act, in conversation with Rebecca Christie. Apple and Meta were hit with the penalties on 23 April 2025 in what will be a test case for the European Commission’s new mandate to rein in digital gatekeepers. This podcast walks through why the fines were assessed, whether they will be big enough to change the companies’ behaviour, and how the EU must manage its regulatory agenda in the middle of a trade war. This podcast was recorded on 25 April 2025. Relevant research: Scott Morton, F. (2024) ‘It’s time for the European Union to rethink personal social networking’, Policy Brief 34/2024, Bruegel Bertin Martens, ‘EU targeting of digital services in tariff retaliation would present challenges’, Bruegel First Glance, 11 April 2025 Scott Morton, F. (2024) ‘Entry and competition in mobile app stores’, Working Paper 03/2024, Bruegel ‘The state of play on global tax’, The Sound of Economics, Bruegel podcast with Rebecca Christie, Benjamin Angel and Pascal Saint-Amans, 6 December 2023 * Music is excerpted from Lake Danse by Roy Hargrove, courtesy of Red Brick Songs and Universal Music

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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