EU says Apple’s App Store violates rules
Apple has become the first major technology company to be charged with violating new European Union regulations digital market regulationthree days after the tech giant said it would not release artificial intelligence on the block due to regulations.
On Monday, the European Commission said Apple’s App Store is preventing developers from communicating with their users and advertising offers directly to them, a practice known as anti-steering.
“Our preliminary view is that Apple does not fully allow controls. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, said in a statement that the directive is key to ensuring that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and that consumers Be aware of better offers.
On X, the European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, gave a more damning assessment. “For too long, Apple has sidelined innovative companies – denying consumers new opportunities and choices,” he said.
The EU called its Monday accusations “preliminary findings.” Apple now has the chance to respond to the allegations, and if a deal is not reached, the bloc has the power to impose a fine – which could be up to 10% of the company’s global revenue – before March 2025.
Tensions between Apple and the EU have been rising for months. Brussels has opened an investigation into the smartphone manufacturer in Steps are about non-compliance with the bloc’s competition regulations. Although investigations have also been opened at Meta and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, Apple’s relationship with European developers has long been a focal point in Brussels.
Back in March, one of the MEPs negotiated the Digital Markets Act told WIRED that Apple is the first logical target for new regulations, describing the company as “low-hanging fruit.” According to the DMA, it is illegal for major tech companies to prioritize their services over those of their competitors.
Developers protested the new terms of business imposed on them by Apple, describe the company’s policies were “abusive,” “extortionist,” and “ridiculously punitive.”
Apple spokesman Rob Saunders said Monday that he trusts the company to comply with the law. “All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to use the capabilities we introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases,” he said. products at very competitive prices.”
On Friday, Apple said it would not release its artificial intelligence features in the EU this year due to what the company described as “regulatory uncertainty.” “In particular, we are concerned that DMA interoperability requirements may force us to compromise product integrity in ways that risk data privacy and security,” Saunders said. user data”. Affected features include iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing improvements, and Apple’s first foray into AI. Apple is smart.
Apple isn’t the only company to blame new EU regulations for its decision to delay rolling out new features. Last year, Google delayed EU rolled out ChatGPT rival Bard and earlier in June Meta plan is paused to train its AI on Europeans’ personal Facebook and Instagram data following discussions with privacy regulators. At the time, the company said: “This is a step back for European innovation, competition in AI development and a further delay in bringing the benefits of AI to people in Europe”.
