The European Commission imposed a 500 million euro ($571 million) fine on Apple for preventing app makers from 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.
AFAIK it’s about paying for the lack of tracking, not ads per se. Untargeted ads in the free version are perfectly legal. It’s paywalling the privacy options that isn’t.