As Apple continues to stand up to the Dutch regulator, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager warns that tech giants risk failing to comply with regulations soon to come into force across the EU.
According to her, the cooperation of the American authorities for the regulation of big tech is essential.
Apple stands up to Dutch regulator
Last December, the Dutch competition authority ordered Apple to adjust the conditions ” unreasonable to which dating apps are subject, which cannot offer an alternative payment method. The practices of the apple brand within its application store are the subject of strong criticism, and are even at the origin of its lawsuit against Epic Games across the Atlantic.
The Dutch regulator had given Apple until January 15 to modify its conditions in the App Store, under the risk of being fined 5 million euros weekly. Since then, Cupertino has ignored the injunction and has already accumulated a penalty of 25 million euros. Despite this, it does not seem that the company plans to cooperate anytime soon… It must be said that this sum is insignificant for Apple, whose turnover in the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to 83.4 billion dollars.
In a press release, Margrethe Vestager believes that this behavior perfectly illustrates the attitude of big tech towards regulations:
“ Apple’s behavior in the Netherlands these days may be an example of this. From what we understand, Apple prefers to pay periodic fines, rather than comply with a decision of the Dutch competition authority on the conditions of third party access to its appstore. And it will also be one of the obligations included in the DMA. »
International cooperation is needed to regulate big tech
The European Commissioner is referring here to the Digital Markets Act which, together with the Digital Services Act, will soon regulate the regulation of technology companies on the Old Continent. In order for these new laws to be effective, Margrethe Vestager explains that similar texts must also come into force in the rest of the world: “ The impact of our digital legislation will depend as much on what happens outside EU borders as inside she says.
Vestager, however, assures that the world is on the right track:
” We want our work on gatekeepers to inspire other jurisdictions in the same way. This is what we see, for example, in Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, several bills are moving through Congress and the Senate, and they share many characteristics with our proposal. This is very encouraging because it means that there is a broad global consensus. »
As a reminder, the Digital Markets Act received the approval of the European Parliament in December 2021.
On the same subject :
Antitrust: Intel wins against European regulators in 12-year-old case
Sources: TechCrunch
, European Commission
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