The European Commission announced today that Apple has become the first tech company charged for violating the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
The giant tech company Apple is in deep waters, tying themselves up in litigation and investigations. The European Commission shared the press release on their decision, finding Apple guilty of violating the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is a historic verdict since this would make them the first technology company charged for breaking the DMA rules. A new investigation from the Commission is quickly underway for Apple’s “core technology fee,” claiming it is non-compliant under the DMA.
The main issue was that the Commission found that the iPhone maker “prevents app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said of the AppStore: “We have reason to believe that the AppStore rules, which do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their users, are in breach of the DMA. Without prejudice to Apple’s right to defend itself, we are determined to use the clear and effective DMA toolbox to finally open up real opportunities for innovators and consumers”. It was not long before Breton took to Twitter/X to voice his opinion.
Breton’s post read: “‘Act different’ should be their new slogan. For too long, Apple has been squeezing out innovative companies—denying consumers new opportunities & choices. Today we are taking further step to ensure AppStore & iOS comply with #DMA.” These charges did not come out of nowhere. Last March, the EU stated how they were making their rounds of investigations around Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Meta. Specifically, they were looking into these tech companies to ensure they were all compliant with the new antitrust laws in the DMA.
There were already rumblings last week when the Financial Times reported that EU regulators were getting ready to formally charge Apple for allegedly “stifling competition” on its App Store. The DMA is a new regulation that went into effect last year and is designed to make the digital sector more competitive and fair. Specifically, the law is aimed at cracking down on over 20 tech companies, including Apple, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft.
The EU has labelled these tech companies “gatekeepers” because of their lack of effort to promote fair competition. The EU expects all of these companies to comply with the DMA rules by March this year. One of the effects of the new DMA included giving developers the option to launch their own third-party app stores within the App Store or Google Play. Of recent note, Fortnite developer Epic Games and Microsoft announced plans to launch their own third-party app stores within Apple and Google’s digital storefronts.
