The European Commission is mulling whether to go easier on US tech giants including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) due in part to the implications of Donald Trump's return as US president, according to a report from the Financial Times.
Apple and co have, according to the report, been urging Trump to intervene and challenge the European Union's regulatory pressure.
Ongoing probes against the tech titans are being paused while the EC carries out the review, the report said.
Brussels could row back or narrow the scope of all investigations launched since last March under the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), the report said.
For example, in June EC regulators opened an investigation into Apple for stifling competition, saying its App Store rules were breaching the DMA, preventing app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative offers.
If companies are found guilty under the DMA rules they can face a penalty of up to 10% of global annual revenue, potentially rising to 20% if the offence is repeated.
In November it was thought that Apple was on the verge of being fined.
The FT report said EC regulators are awaiting political direction before making their next moves.