Apple seems to have a ‘problem’ in the European Union (EU). The bloc’s competition chief has said that the European Commission has found a number of “very serious” issues with the company’s obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The statement follows a report which claimed that the company is likely to be found guilty of not complying with the tech rules.
“We have a number of Apple issues, I find them very serious. I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-compliant,” Margrethe Vestager told CNBC.
In March, the Commission opened an investigation into Apple, Alphabet and Facebook-parent Meta, under the DMA over concerns about Apple. One of the concerns was whether the company restricts businesses from informing users about potentially lower-priced products or subscriptions available elsewhere, bypassing the App Store.
“[Apple] are very important because a lot of good business happens through the App Store, happens through payment mechanisms, so of course, even though you know I can say this is not what was expected of such a company, of course we will enforce exactly with the same top priority as with any other business,” she said, adding the conclusions of the probe will be revealed “hopefully soon.”
EU may fine Apple for failing to comply with the DMA
Last week, a report claimed that the is planning to fine Apple for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and this will be the first DMA-related fine, potentially announced in the coming weeks. Apple introduced its DMA compliance measures in January and implemented them via iOS 17.4 in March.
However, the EU believes Apple’s efforts fall short; the Commission reportedly views Apple as not fulfilling its obligation to allow app developers to direct users to external offerings without incurring fees. If the EU proceeds, the fine could reach 5% of Apple’s average daily global revenue, which may exceed $1 billion.
“We have a number of Apple issues, I find them very serious. I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-compliant,” Margrethe Vestager told CNBC.
In March, the Commission opened an investigation into Apple, Alphabet and Facebook-parent Meta, under the DMA over concerns about Apple. One of the concerns was whether the company restricts businesses from informing users about potentially lower-priced products or subscriptions available elsewhere, bypassing the App Store.
“[Apple] are very important because a lot of good business happens through the App Store, happens through payment mechanisms, so of course, even though you know I can say this is not what was expected of such a company, of course we will enforce exactly with the same top priority as with any other business,” she said, adding the conclusions of the probe will be revealed “hopefully soon.”
EU may fine Apple for failing to comply with the DMA
Last week, a report claimed that the is planning to fine Apple for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and this will be the first DMA-related fine, potentially announced in the coming weeks. Apple introduced its DMA compliance measures in January and implemented them via iOS 17.4 in March.
However, the EU believes Apple’s efforts fall short; the Commission reportedly views Apple as not fulfilling its obligation to allow app developers to direct users to external offerings without incurring fees. If the EU proceeds, the fine could reach 5% of Apple’s average daily global revenue, which may exceed $1 billion.