The European Commission has stopped waiting for Apple to comply with the rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). As one of the DMA-designated gatekeepers, made up of the industry’s largest and most important companies, it has launched a procedure to ensure the company complies with its interoperability obligations. The Commission explains that under the DMA it has the right “to adopt decisions prescribing the measures that gatekeepers must implement to ensure effective compliance,” and has given Apple six months to comply with the measures if it wants to avoid being hit with huge fines.
One of the areas the committee will focus on is iOS connectivity for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones and virtual reality headsets. Manufacturers of these products “rely on effective interoperability with smartphones and their operating systems,” the committee said. The committee plans to specify how Apple can provide effective interoperability so that non-Apple devices can easily pair with and connect to iPhones and receive notifications. The committee will also consider the process Apple has set up to address developer requests for third-party interoperability with iOS and iPadOS.
“Today is the first opportunity to use the specification procedure under the DMA to ensure that Apple effectively complies with its interoperability obligations through a constructive dialogue,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring fair and open digital markets. Effective interoperability, including between smartphones and their operating systems, plays a key role in this. This process provides transparency for developers, third parties and Apple. We will continue our dialogue with Apple and consult with third parties to ensure that the proposed measures work in practice and meet the needs of businesses.”
In June, the European Commission published preliminary findings of an investigation it opened against Apple, finding that the company had violated DMA rules by not allowing App Store developers to freely communicate alternative payment options to users outside its ecosystem. The company told Engadget at the time that it had made “several changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission” over the past few months.
To avoid being fined in the EU, Apple has made some changes to its system, such as opening up iOS and iPadOS to third-party app stores and giving developers access to NFC technology, but new features such as Apple Intelligence, iPhone mirroring on Mac, and SharePlay screen sharing are not available to European users due to DMA regulations.
The company told Bloomberg that it has devised ways to help developers further improve the interoperability of iOS and iPadOS while protecting user security. It added that weakening the system’s protections would put European users at risk. As the news agency points out, the committee could launch an investigation if the company does not comply with measures it will develop within the next six months. If found guilty, the company could be fined 10% of its annual global turnover.
