Report from the New York Times
In Brief – European Union regulators forcefully rejected Apple’s claim that Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules are responsible for the company delaying the launch of its upgraded Siri AI assistant in Europe. Apple claimed that Commission regulators refused to work constructively on solutions that would allow Siri AI to launch in Europe concurrently with other major markets while maintaining strong privacy and security for European users, including an 18-month period when Apple would be exempt from the DMA’s interoperability requirements as it developed secure processes for rival AI assistants that would gain unprecedented access to sensitive user information. The Commission disputed Apple’s account and argued that the company simply failed to develop secure interoperability processes for AI assistants.
Context – There are 7 gatekeepers operating 24 “core platform services” that must comply with the DMA’s 18 regulatory mandates, including the ability for third-party products and services to interoperate with the core platforms in the same manner as the gatekeeper’s own products and services. This interoperability requirement is an especially difficult challenge to Apple’s core user proposition that it’s “walled garden” provides a better and safer user experience. Apple’s restrictive model has been very popular in the EU but is basically now not compliant with the law. Siri AI is not their first standoff over DMA interoperability. More than two years ago the Commission told the company how to give peripherals competitors, such as smart watches and headphones, full access to iPhone capabilities. Apple continues to strenuously object, arguing the rules harm the user experience and threaten privacy. Giving third-party AI developers unfettered access to the top digital platforms so they can compete with incumbents is emerging as a top Commission priority. They are developing DMA rules for Google to give AI developers equal access to Android devices, demands that Apple objects to for the same reasons that they oppose the rules they face, as well as requiring Meta to give third-party chatbots the same ability to use WhatsApp as Meta’s own chatbots.