Tech fines tracker
Big Tech, small consequences
Fines are big - and growing
In 2025, Alphabet, Google's parent company, was fined nearly $4.24 billion dollars. This is an astronomical amount that's almost impossible to imagine.
But Big Tech is bigger
While $7.8 billion in fines sounds substantial, it represents little more than a rounding error for Big Tech. Based on free cash flow, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Amazon could collectively pay off all 2025 penalties in just 28 days and 48 minutes. Alphabet alone — fined more than $4 billion — could wipe out its penalties in about three weeks.
Free cash flow (FCF) is a measure Alphabet defines as "amount of cash generated by the business that can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business and acquisitions, and to strengthen our balance sheet."
The other Big Tech companies' free cash flows similarly make their fines little more than a speeding ticket.
How long did it take Big Tech to pay off all their fines?
In 2025, Google could pay its nearly $4.24 billion in fines with the free cash flow it generated in three weeks. If we want Big Tech to prioritize our privacy, the fines must increase or regulatory bodies must force them to change their practices.
| |  |  |  |  |  |
| 2025 free cash flow | $98.77 billion | $73.55 billion | $71.61 billion | $44.84 billion | $10.56 billion |
| Total fines 2025 | $851,200,000 | $4.24 billion | Not yet reported | $228,000,000 | $2.5 billion |
| Time to pay off its fines (using free cash flow) | 3 days, 3 hours, 28 minutes | 21 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes | Unavailable | 1 day, 20 hours, 32 minutes | 86 days, 2 hours, 7 minutes |
See all Big Tech fines for 2025
We have collated all the fines Big Tech have received in 2025. We will be updating it with historic data, as well as with the latest fines as they are issued.
2025
$12,600,000
January 2025
Indonesia – for the monopolistic practices of its Google Play Store payment system(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 hour, 43 minutes
$3,200,000
February 2025
South Korea – for using data illegally obtained without users' consent(new window)
Time to pay off: 15 minutes
$340,000,000
February 2025
Italy – to settle a tax evasion case(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 day, 22 hours, 34 minutes
$162,000,000
March 2025
France – for privacy violations related to its App Tracking Transparency tool(new window)
Time to pay off: 13 hours, 2 minutes
$228,000,000
April 2025
EU - for its "pay or consent" advertising model(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 day, 12 hours, 45 minutes
$571,000,000
April 2025
EU - for breaching DMA rules for app stores(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 day, 21 hours, 58 minutes
$8,900,000
July 2025
Turkey – for failing to comply with regulatory obligations from a previous investigation(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 hour, 13 minutes
$381,000,000
September 2025
France – for improperly displaying ads to Gmail users and using cookies without users' consent(new window)
Time to pay off: 2 days, 4 hours, 11 minutes
$3.5bn
September 2025
EU – for illegally favoring its own digital advertising services(new window)
Time to pay off: 19 days, 23 hours, 22 minutes
Amazon
$2.5bn
September 2025
US – for deceptive practices involving Amazon Prime subscriptions.(new window) Amazon is paying a $1bn fine and $1.5bn in reimbursements to Prime subscribers.
Time to pay off: 45 days, 6 hours, 57 minutes
$115,000,000
December 2025
Italy – for abusing its dominant App Store position(new window)
Time to pay off: 9 hours, 15 minutes
Latest news
Dec 8 - Meta agrees to offer EU users ads that use less personalized data(new window)
Dec 5 - EU fines X $140 million for violating content rules(new window)
May 19 - Russia fines Apple $130,000 for "LGBT propaganda"(new window)
Mar 17 - Turkish parliament considers new regulations similar to the Digital Markets Act(new window)
All Big Tech fines for 2024
June 2024
South Korea - for using pre-selected consent options(new window) in its account sign-up process, which the commission claims misled users into agreeing to data collection for targeted advertising
Time to pay off: 7 hours, 3 minutes
October 2024
EU - for unfair promotion of Google shopping results(new window) in Google search (fine upheld on appeal)
Time to pay off: 14 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes
October 2024
South Korea - for in-app payment breaches(new window) pending original complaint(new window)
Time to pay off: 5 hours, 28 minutes
December 2024
Turkey - for violating competition laws(new window)
Time to pay off: 10 hours, 13 minutes
June 2024
Italy - for failing to provide clear information to new Instagram users(new window) about data use and not adequately notifying or assisting existing Instagram and Facebook users regarding account suspensions
Time to pay off: 36 minutes
July 2024
Nigeria - for abusive practices against Nigerian data subjects(new window), including unauthorized data appropriation, discriminatory practices, and abuse of dominant market position
Time to pay off: 1 day, 11 hours, 28 minutes
September 2024
EU - for inadvertently storing certain passwords of social media users in plaintext(new window) on its internal systems
Time to pay off: 15 hours, 26 minutes
November 2024
EU - for harming competition(new window) by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace with its personal social network Facebook
Time to pay off: 5 days, 15 hours, 22 minutes
November 2024
South Korea - for collecting sensitive user data and giving it to advertisers(new window) without a legal basis
Time to pay off: 2 hours, 32 minutes
November 2024
India - for abusing its dominant position in messaging and advertising(new window) by requiring users to share data for use across its platforms.
Time to pay off: 4 hours, 1 minute
December 2024
Ireland - for a 2018 data breach(new window) that affected 29 million Facebook users
Time to pay off: 1 day, 18 hours, 14 minutes
January 2024
France - for GDPR breaches concerning(new window) employee monitoring
Time to pay off: 14 hours, 29 minutes
April 2024
Poland - for misleading consumer practices(new window)
Time to pay off: 3 hours, 15 minutes
November 2024
Turkey - for a data breach relating to Twitch(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 minute, 30 seconds
October 2024
Ireland - for GDPR privacy violations(new window) relating to tracking for ads on LinkedIn
Time to pay off: 1 day, 15 hours, 37 minutes
December 2024
UK - for breaching competition laws for overcharging businesses(new window) that used cloud services from competitors (pending)
Time to pay off: 6 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes
January 2024
Russia - for abusing its dominant position concerning in-app payment(new window)
Time to pay off : 1 hour, 6 minutes
March 202
EU - for breaking streaming rules(new window).
Time to pay off : 6 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes
October 2024
South Korea - for in-app payment breaches(new window)
PENDING original complaint(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 hour, 10 minutes
October 2024
USA - for mishandling consumer disputes of Apple Card(new window) transactions (joint fine with Goldman Sachs)
Time to pay off: 7 hours, 10 minutes
March 2024
France - for breaching intellectual property(new window) deal
Time to pay off: 1 day, 11 hours, 51 minutes
June 2024
South Korea - for using pre-selected consent options(new window) in its account sign-up process, which the commission claims misled users into agreeing to data collection for targeted advertising
Time to pay off: 7 hours, 3 minutes
June 2024
Turkey - for not meeting obligations related to hotel searches(new window)
Time to pay off: 2 hours, 1 minute
October 2024
EU - for unfair promotion of Google shopping results(new window) in Google search (fine upheld on appeal)
Time to pay off: 14 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes
October 2024
South Korea - for in-app payment breaches(new window) pending original complaint(new window)
Time to pay off: 5 hours, 28 minutes
December 2024
Turkey - for violating competition laws(new window)
Time to pay off: 10 hours, 13 minutes
June 2024
Italy - for failing to provide clear information to new Instagram users(new window) about data use and not adequately notifying or assisting existing Instagram and Facebook users regarding account suspensions
Time to pay off: 36 minutes
July 2024
Nigeria - for abusive practices against Nigerian data subjects(new window), including unauthorized data appropriation, discriminatory practices, and abuse of dominant market position
Time to pay off: 1 day, 11 hours, 28 minutes
September 2024
EU - for inadvertently storing certain passwords of social media users in plaintext(new window) on its internal systems
Time to pay off: 15 hours, 26 minutes
November 2024
EU - for harming competition(new window) by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace with its personal social network Facebook
Time to pay off: 5 days, 15 hours, 22 minutes
November 2024
South Korea - for collecting sensitive user data and giving it to advertisers(new window) without a legal basis
Time to pay off: 2 hours, 32 minutes
November 2024
India - for abusing its dominant position in messaging and advertising(new window) by requiring users to share data for use across its platforms.
Time to pay off: 4 hours, 1 minute
December 2024
Ireland - for a 2018 data breach(new window) that affected 29 million Facebook users
Time to pay off: 1 day, 18 hours, 14 minutes
January 2024
France - for GDPR breaches concerning(new window) employee monitoring
Time to pay off: 14 hours, 29 minutes
April 2024
Poland - for misleading consumer practices(new window)
Time to pay off: 3 hours, 15 minutes
November 2024
Turkey - for a data breach relating to Twitch(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 minute, 30 seconds
October 2024
Ireland - for GDPR privacy violations(new window) relating to tracking for ads on LinkedIn
Time to pay off: 1 day, 15 hours, 37 minutes
December 2024
UK - for breaching competition laws for overcharging businesses(new window) that used cloud services from competitors (pending)
Time to pay off: 6 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes
All Big Tech fines for 2023
January 2023
Ireland - for WhatsApp breaching data privacy laws(new window)
July 2023
Ireland - for GDPR breaches by Facebook and Instagram(new window)
November 2023
Ireland - for data transfers to the USA that violated the GDPR(new window)
July 2023
Spain - for price fixing Apple products on Amazon(new window)
January 2023
January 2023
France - for privacy violations(new window)
January 2023
July 2023
Spain - for price fixing Apple products on Amazon(new window)
March 2023
India - for Android's illegal market dominance(new window) (ruling upholding fine)
April 2023
South Korea - for blocking mobile games on rival app stores(new window)
December 2023
All 50 states in USA - for abusing its power in the Google Play Store(new window) (settlement)
January 2023
Ireland - for WhatsApp breaching data privacy laws(new window)
July 2023
Ireland - for GDPR breaches by Facebook and Instagram(new window)
November 2023
Ireland - for data transfers to the USA that violated the GDPR(new window)
July 2023
Spain - for price fixing Apple products on Amazon(new window)
January 2023
All Big Tech fines for 2022
November 2022
France - for illegally bundling services on Android(new window) (fine reduced on appeal from $4.34 billion)
January 2022
France - for making it difficult for users to refuse cookies(new window)
September 2022
Ireland - for Instagram breaking EU data privacy laws concerning children's data(new window)
September 2022
South Korea - for failing to obtain users' consent before collecting data(new window)
October 2022
Washington, USA - for intentionally and repeatedly violating Washington campaign finance laws(new window)
October 2022
Turkey - for creating barriers to entry(new window) into the online advertising market
March 2022
The Netherlands - for refusing to support third-party payment systems(new window)
June 2022
October 2022
January 2022
France - for making it difficult for users to refuse cookies(new window)
May 2022
Choose which servers your employees can connect to from our extensive network of 20,000+ servers in over 140 countries.
August 2022
Australia - for misleading users about location data collection(new window)
September 2022
UK & EU - for abusing monopoly power in advertising(new window)
September 2022
South Korea - for failing to obtain users' consent before collecting data(new window)
October 2022
India - for refusing to allow third-party payment services(new window)
November 2022
40 states in the USA - for tracking users location even after they opted out(new window)
November 2022
France - for illegally bundling services on Android(new window) (fine reduced on appeal from $4.34 billion)
January 2022
France - for making it difficult for users to refuse cookies(new window)
September 2022
Ireland - for Instagram breaking EU data privacy laws concerning children's data(new window)
September 2022
South Korea - for failing to obtain users' consent before collecting data(new window)
October 2022
Washington, USA - for intentionally and repeatedly violating Washington campaign finance laws(new window)
October 2022
Turkey - for creating barriers to entry(new window) into the online advertising market
March 2022
The Netherlands - for refusing to support third-party payment systems(new window)
June 2022
October 2022
The above tables are not an exhaustive list of all the fines these companies received in the listed calendar years. We included all the substantial fines we could find in major news sources, but there might be others. These tables focus on fines and settlements with governments and regulatory bodies and exclude class action lawsuits, tax disputes, and censorship fines from Russia over removing news about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Also, due to the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates, the dollar amounts might have shifted since these tables were published.
If you have questions or think there's a fine we should add, write to us at media@proton.me.
Read more about Big Tech fines
In 2024, governments worldwide fined some of the world’s largest tech companies — Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft — a combined $8.2 billion. At first glance, it might seem like authorities are finally holding Big Tech companies accountable. But a closer look reveals the stark reality.
Last year, Big Tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft) received about $3.04 billion in fines for breaking laws on both sides of the Atlantic. As of seven days and three hours into 2024, they had already earned enough revenue to pay it all off.
In 2022, Google agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by 40 US states for $391.5 million. Law enforcement officials in those states said the company had secretly tracked the locations of Android users who thought their location tracking was turned off.