Three days after Apple’s announcement of the unavailability of several major new products in Europe, for fear of the Digital Markets Act, the European Commission announces that it is condemning Apple for non-compliance with its major digital regulations. Margrethe Vestager indicates that the company has falsely adapted to the DMA.
“We are concerned that Apple has designed its new business model in a way that discourages app developers and end users from taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the DMA. »
In a speech given on June 24 during a conference with several European players, Margrethe Vestager, the vice-president of the European Commission in charge of competition, announced that Apple is the first company sanctioned under the Digital Markets Act .
After carrying out a preliminary investigation, the European Commission says it fears that Apple, which must respect the DMA since March 2024, has put in place a deliberately complicated system to prevent Europeans from paying outside the App Store. The Californian brand, which has just announced that it would deprive Europeans of several major functions, is not likely to improve its relations with Europe.
The European Commission wants to prevent tech giants from controlling the market
In her speech, Margrethe Vestager first compared digital technology to football. Using metaphors about Euro 2024, the Vice-President of the Commission indicated that the digital giants win every time by preventing small teams from entering the field. With the DMA, Europe hopes to allow small developers to compete with the big ones, with equal arms. They won’t necessarily win, but they can spring a surprise. This is what motivates its regulation which entered into force in March 2024.
Large tech companies affected by the DMA (a service must have 45 million users in Europe to be eligible) can apply the DMA rules as they wish, but must then justify themselves to the Commission, to prove that They respect the rules. “If this is not the case, we will intervene”says Margrethe Vestager.
A sixth investigation into Apple
This is where Apple comes into play. After opening five preliminary investigations in recent months for alleged non-compliance with the DMA (on Apple, Amazon and Meta), the European Commission announces opening a sixth on Apple.
“We will examine Apple’s new business model: the commercial terms that Apple imposes on application developers who want to reach end users on the iOS platform. The criteria that these app developers must meet to be allowed to operate as alternative marketplaces or make apps available via sideloading. And the complex journey of users who want to download and install alternative marketplaces and sideloaded applications. »
Margrethe Vestager refers to the long steps to install a third-party store on iPhone, which complicate the lives of users interested in this practice.
Apple, first company condemned for non-compliance with the DMA
The European Commission is not stopping at this new investigation into Apple, since it indicates that it is delivering its first conclusions on an investigation opened three months ago. Margrethe Vestager indicates that Apple is in a situation of ” noncompliance “ with the DMA, a first since the text came into force. Apple would prevent developers from communicating about alternative payment solutions, even though it is obliged to do so. Giants like Spotify have strongly complained about the application of the text by the Californian.
By being the first to be convicted, Apple risks a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover (or practically $40 billion in 2023). The brand nevertheless has until March 2025 to comply, which should reduce (or even exempt) it from a fine. After Apple, the DMA’s preferred target (its ecosystem is the most closed), other tech giants could soon be condemned.
In a press release shared with Numerama, Apple responds to the European Commission: “Over the past few months, Apple has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission. We are confident that our plan complies with the law, and we estimate that more than 99% of developers would pay Apple the same or lower fees under the new business terms we have created. All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the ability to use the capabilities we’ve introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to make purchases at a very competitive price. As we have always done, we will continue to listen to and engage with the European Commission. »
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