Report from Bloomberg
In Brief – Apple used the European Commission’s first consultation on the impact and effectiveness of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to reiterate its long-held concerns with the legislation and urge the EU regulators to make changes. Apple wrote in a blog post, “It’s become clear that the DMA is leading to a worse experience for Apple users in the EU. It’s exposing them to new risks, and disrupting the simple, seamless way their Apple products work together.” The iPhone maker stressed it was complying with the so-called gatekeeper law but that the mandates are causing the company to withhold some new features from devices they release in the EU, exposing European users to increased fraud and privacy risks, and reducing consumer choices because Apple is required to design their services in ways that mimic Android devices. The Commission said it would not change the DMA in response to Apple’s complaints with a spokesperson noting, “Apple has contested every little bit of the DMA since its entry into application.”
Context – There are seven DMA gatekeepers operating 24 “core platform services”, including four from Apples. Each platform must comply with 18 regulatory mandates. The law challenges Apple’s core user proposition more than the others. Rather than using technical or non-transparent practices to shape its platforms, Apple built openly restrictive “walled gardens” with a value proposition that their platforms were better at promoting privacy, security, and providing a seamless user experience. And Apple’s devices consistently proved very popular with users. With the DMA, the EU basically told the company that its highly successful business model was no longer legal. Unsurprisingly, Apple was an initial Commission enforcement target, with the regulator demanding that the company ensure its devices work better with competitor devices and make major changes with its App Store rules and fees in a case that resulted in a 500 million euro fine and has not been fully resolved.