By Tom GerkenTechnology reporter25 March 2024, 10:14 GMTUpdated 24 minutes agoImage supply, Getty ImagesThe EU has introduced investigations into among the largest tech companies on the earth over uncompetitive practices.Alphabet, which owns Google, Meta, and Apple are all being appeared into for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) launched in 2022.If they’re discovered to have damaged the foundations, the companies can face large fines of as much as 10% of their annual turnover.EU antitrust boss Margrethe Vestager and trade head Thierry Breton introduced the investigations on Monday.In its investigation introduced right this moment, the EU says it believes Apple and Alphabet are limiting anti-steering – in different phrases, making it troublesome for apps to inform customers about methods to pay much less for his or her providers exterior of utilizing app shops’ personal fee strategies.Additionally it is trying into whether or not Meta has breached its guidelines by means of asking individuals to pay to keep away from their knowledge getting used for adverts.The transfer has “pressured hundreds of thousands of customers throughout Europe right into a binary selection: pay or consent,” stated Mr Breton.In response to Ms Vestager, the investigation will take round 12 months to finish.”We suspect that the prompt options put ahead by the three corporations don’t totally adjust to the DMA,” she stated. “We’ll now examine the businesses’ compliance with the DMA, to make sure open and contestable digital markets in Europe.”