Apple readying for legal battle against European Union's App Store regulations

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Apple is drafting an appeal against the EU's Digital Market Act, arguing that it should not be required to allow alternative app marketplaces on its devices.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union is a series of regulations aimed at tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and others. These laws aim to ensure fair competition by restricting the amount of priority a company can give to its own first-party services.

Apple will also argue that iMessage, its on-device messaging service exclusive to Apple users, shouldn't be scrutinized by regulators.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's legal team is preparing an assault against the provisions of the law. Apple's appeal is reportedly still in draft form and could change before the Nov. 16 deadline to file challenges at the EU's General Court.

Primarily, Apple is said to be focusing on iMessage not being large enough to count as a gatekeeper, in accordance with the law. It will also include a discussion about specifically what about the App Store needs to be regulated, and how.

In March 2022, the European Union published the Digital Markets Act. It went into effect May 2023.

In September, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said the Digital Markets Act is just the beginning, and Apple would need to open its whole ecosystem to competitors.

However, in the same month, Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing were removed from compliance with the EU's Digital Markets. Apple argued that its iMessage service is too small in Europe to come under the law's conditions.

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26 Comments

gatorguy 24188 comments · 13 Years

About 5 months ago

Worth mentioning is an appeal by Apple won't have any effect on the compliance date. The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to meet the requirements by March 2024.

darkvader 1146 comments · 15 Years

Apple needs to give up this one.

It's insane that I can't load whatever software I want on MY iPhone from whatever source I choose.

Hopefully once they're forced to do the right thing in Europe they'll go ahead for the rest of the world too.

mikewallace 10 comments · 3 Years

darkvader said:

Apple needs to give up this one.

It's insane that I can't load whatever software I want on MY iPhone from whatever source I choose.

Hopefully once they're forced to do the right thing in Europe they'll go ahead for the rest of the world too.

/s
What’s insane is that
1) Apple hid the fact that all the apps must be downloaded from their App Store
2) Never allowed side loading or jailbreaking
3) Forced users to purchase their gear
4) Prohibited other platforms
/s

It’s a shame more thought wasn’t given into what you’re getting when you bought your iPhone

chasm 3308 comments · 10 Years

Broadly speaking more interoperability would benefit users, but in some areas the EU is likely going o far, and specifically I think the iMessage squabble is one of those areas. Once the telecom and computer industries AS A GROUP have decided on a replacement for SMS/MMS, then that should be implemented across platforms as Apple DID do with SMS/MMS.

Android users have NO barrier to communicating with iPhones, and iPhones have NO barrier to communicating with the myriad world of Android phones. SMS/MMS may or may not need replacing, but the legislation is an imposed solution in search of an at present nonexistent problem.

chasm said:

Android users have NO barrier to communicating with iPhones, and iPhones have NO barrier to communicating with the myriad world of Android phones.

If you or the Android users are happy with the cross-platform lack of privacy, security, and continuity, then sure, they can talk to each other.

Wouldn't it be nice though if Android users could maintain the E2EE that Google gives them, even when an iPhone Apple Messages user enters the conversation and vice-versa? As it is both sides give up their security and privacy when the two sides try to message each other. and it all reverts to SMS.

That cross-platform encryption problem gets solved with the pending standard Messaging Layer Security which is already being adopted and ready to integrate by the March deadline.
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9420

But if the worlds richest and most powerful technology company, a company that pushes the industry where it wants it to go, is allowed to go its own independent way things will remain as they are: A leaky sieve using decades-old insecure messaging standards. And worse it's just because of the money Apple can make with lock-in. It does not make the users more secure or their conversations more private.