In preliminary findings, the EU says Apple's anti-steering developer rules breach the DMA; the EU is also probing if Apple's developer fees comply with EU rules
After the news broke yesterday - on a Friday afternoon, no less … Oscar Gonzalez / Gizmodo : Apple Could Be Fined $30 Billion for Violating Competition Laws Livia Giannotti / Tech Monitor : EU finds Apple in breach of new competition act, opening additional investigation into its practices Charming Holiday / Game Rant : Apple Hit With Charge by the European Commission Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica : EU says Apple violated app developers' rights, could be fined 10% of revenue Vikki Blake / Eurogamer.net : EU opens fresh investigation into Apple following further non-compliance claims Anthony Duignan-Cabrera / Silicon Valley Business … : Apple charged with violating EU Digital Markets Act Hamid Ganji / Android Police : EU tells Apple to make iOS even more like Android Dan Moren / Six Colors : Preliminary ruling from the EC declares Apple is violating the DMA ↦ Brad Linder / Liliputing : European Commission says Apple's new App Store & payment rules still violate the DMA Tom Ivan / Video Games Chronicle : EU charges Apple with breaching new competition rules European Commission : Speech by EVP Margrethe Vestager at the European Competition Network conference on the DMA Lawrence Matheson / The Mirror : Apple accused of breaching digital competition rules by European Union Beatrice Nolan / Business Insider : European regulators accuse Apple of breaching new rules with its App Store Reuters : EU to take further action against Apple over digital market rules, Breton says John Callaham / Neowin : The EU has officially stated Apple is in violation of its Digital Markets Act Jeff Parsons / Tom's Guide : Apple just became first company ever charged with violating EU's new pro-competition law Daniel Griffiths / Mobile games industry news … : Game over for Apple as the European Commission wades in against their DMA dodge Romain Dillet / TechCrunch : Apple's App Store breaches EU's Digital Markets Act Robert Hart / Forbes : Apple's App Store Rules Illegally Stifle Competition In Europe—Possibly Drawing Billions In Fines, EU Regulator Says Eric Benjamin Seufert / Mobile Dev Memo : Apple's DMA compliance and the EC's folly Tim Sweezy / HotHardware : EU Accuses Apple Of Violating DMA Rules With App Store's Walled Garden Ed Hardy / Cult of Mac : Apple could face huge fines for breaking ‘steering’ rules under Europe's DMA Sumit Adhikari / Android Headlines : Apple charged under EU's DMA rules for App Store violations Ian Lyall / Proactive : Apple: European regulators go after the iPhone maker of app store William Gavin / Quartz : Apple is the first target of Europe's new tech crackdown Ali Hasnain / iThinkDifferent : EU cracks down on Apple's App Store: Anti-steering rules and developer fees under fire Edith Hancock / Politico : EU accuses Apple of breaching landmark digital law AppleInsider : Apple's Core Technology Fee at the center of EU's first DMA violation investigation Kim Mackrael / Wall Street Journal : Apple Hit by First Charges Under New European Tech Law PYMNTS.com : Apple's App Store Under Fire as EU Enforces Digital Markets Act Benzinga : Apple Faces EU Antitrust Probe For Breaking Digital Rules, Tim Cook's Company May Face Fine Up To 10% Of Global Revenue Juro Osawa / The Information : European Union Accuses Apple of Breaking New Tech Rules Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac : EU says Apple anti-steering rules in breach of DMA, officially investigating Core Technology Fee terms Samuel Stolton / Fortune : Apple's feud with Europe's DMA intensifies as iPhone maker gets hit for ‘illegal practices’ by not offering cheaper prices outside the App Store Associated Press : European Union regulators accuse Apple of breaching digital competition rules for App Store Stephen Warwick / iMore : Apple's EU App Store in breach of Digital Markets Act over three key issues, company remains defiant Associated Press : European Union regulators accuse Apple of breaching digital competition rules for App StoreEuropean Union regulators accused Apple on Monday of breaki... Anna Cooban / CNN : EU accuses Apple of breaking its new tech rules Leigh Mc Gowran / Silicon Republic : Apple delays AI feature launch in EU over DMA concerns Arjun Kharpal / CNBC : European Union regulators accuse Apple of breaching the bloc's tech rules Javier Espinoza / The Irish Times : EU accuses Apple of breaking competition rules Thomas Ricker / The Verge : Apple is the first Big Tech company to be charged under the DMA rules and could be fined up to 10% of its annual global revenue, or $38B based on 2023 numbers Threads: Benedict Evans / @benedictevans : It is kind of funny to watch the emergence of EU fanboys in tech, convinced that no EU decision or argument could possibly be questioned and that all tech policy questions are entirely simple and do not involve any trade-offs. Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo : In response to the European Commission's preliminary findings that it breached the Digital Markets Act, Apple has provided the following statement saying it is confident that it complies with the law https://9to5mac.com/... @eshumarneedi : EU complaints: — “Imposing too many restrictions” on third-party app marketplaces and apps not from the App Store. (They're punishing Apple for the scare screen.) — CTF is too expensive. (It literally only applies to large developers.) Of course, leaked to The Financial Times. Mastodon: @rileytestut@mastodon.social : When we first met with the EC a few months ago, we were asked repeatedly if we trusted Apple to be in charge of Notarization. We emphatically said yes. — However, it's clear to us now that Apple is indeed using Notarization to not only delay our apps, but also to determine on a case-by-case basis how to undermine each release — such as by changing the App Store rules to allow them … @paul@tapbots.social : I'm confused as to why the answer was an emphatic yes to begin with. At best the answer should've been Apple hasn't weaponized notarization on Mac, yet... https://mastodon.social/... Matt Birchler / @matt@isfeeling.social : Woof — https://mastodon.social/... @siguza@infosec.space : @rileytestut — > We emphatically said yes. — I swear to god you have Stockholm syndrome. Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : Apple is convinced — 1) that they're the good guys — 2) that European regulators are dumb — It's patently obvious that neither of these are the case. Until that actually sinks in, this is going to continue to be a rollercoaster. … Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : The EC is not stupid; they can read the terms of Apple's DMA compliance just like the rest of us, and call out Apple's bullshit qualifying terms just like everybody else did — like ‘membership of good standing’ … Ian Betteridge / @ianb@mastodon.well.com : I love how the Apple client websites are framing the FT getting the exclusive on what the EU is up to as a “leak”. We used to call that “journalism”. Maybe you guys should look it up? — https://www.ft.com/... X: Thierry Breton / @thierrybreton : “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 steps to ensure AppStore & iOS comply with #DMA [image] Patrick Moorhead / @patrickmoorhead : It's not going so well for Apple in the EU. Plagued with antitrust action, delaying Apple AI. I am wondering if the company is willing to die on this vine. $AAPL needs to have a Microsoft antitrust moment, or it will get ugly fast. Ten percent of company revenues are at stake if it doesn't comply, and that will hurt. Kay Jebelli / @kayjebelli : One additional point of interest: the press release states that the “none of Apple's three sets of business terms would comply with Article 5(4) of the DMA”, so it's not just one systematic infringement, but potentially three separate infringements. That could have implications Adam Kovacevich / @adamkovac : Politico's @Edith_L_Hancock's analysis distills the “why now” of the EU's new Apple charges: 1. Vestager about to leave 2. Apple beat Vestager on taxes 3. Vestager doesn't care if Europeans left behind on tech features Let's take a closer look... [image] Patrick Moorhead / @patrickmoorhead : @stevesi While I think Apple went too far with the walled garden, I do think the EU is taking things so far that it will inhibit innovation. We will see, though. Who will be the first hot startup that doesn't open up shop in the EU? Seems like a lot of hand-wringing and hot air so far. Kay Jebelli / @kayjebelli : It's pretty obvious actually. In the press release, Vestager is quoted as saying “The developers' community and consumers are eager to offer alternatives to the App Store. We will investigate to ensure Apple does not undermine these efforts.” Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi : @PatrickMoorhead Capitulation isn't a strategy. It is signing up to be a nationalized tech company. Look at how governments are reacting to Microsoft and AI, even after all the capitulation the company has done for 20 years. Governments have zero LTM (pun) when it comes to capitulating. Adam Kovacevich / @adamkovac : Lastly, there's been a lot of discussion on the DMA forcing Apple to withhold features from European users. Vestager is totally fine with European consumers being second-class citizens in terms of access to the latest innovations ⤵️ [image] Margrethe Vestager / @vestager : Today we open a new case + we adopt preliminary findings against @Apple under the DMA. 👉We are concerned Apple's new business model makes it too hard for app developers to operate as alternative marketplaces & reach their end users on iOS. More🗞️: https://www.shorturl.at/g5S5Q Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : The EU Commission has now formally announced two DMA enforcement steps against Apple. 1. Preliminary findings according to which Apple's steering rules (and fees for outbound links) are non-compliant. This investigation stated in March. 🧵1/4 https://ec.europa.eu/... Christina Oelke / @oelkechristina : Strong and important message of VP Vestager at the ECN DMA conference in Amsterdam: We will use every tool in the Toolbox that the DMA offers. [image] Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : After preliminary findings, there'll be a “final” decision by the EC, but it's appealable to the EU General Court. And Apple will appeal. I'm not saying Apple is 100% compliant, but I believe the EC interprets the DMA too aggressively and the court may think so, too. 🧵4/4 Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : We're talking about different degrees of conviction on the EC's part of non-compliance: the CTF inquiry was based on only some *potential* concern; formal investigations means they *suspect* non-compliance: preliminary findings of non-compliance are the next level. 🧵3/4 Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : The EC informed Apple today of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act, and that it is opening a new non-compliance procedure related to contractual terms for developers, including the Core Technology Fee. M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler : “Apple's new slogan should be ‘act different’.” The EU ain't messing around here. They're busting out the zingers. Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Unsurprisingly, the EU has told Apple that its rules preventing developers from telling users they can buy digital goods outside the App Store to avoid its 30% cut are in violation of the DMA. Apple can appeal, if unsuccessful, the EU can fine Apple up to 10% of global revenue. [image] Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : The EU is also investigating Apple's plan to charge €0.50 per download for apps downloaded from 3rd party app stores and how many steps it takes to download such apps. These could also lead to separate fines if Apple is found guilty. https://9to5mac.com/... @privacymatters : “Apple collected $85 billion USD in App Store fees in 2022, of which it keeps approximately 30%.” <let that sink in. That's just App Store fees Page 9 of 118 of report by @OpenWebAdvocacy 'Review of Apple's [DMA] Compliance Proposal' https://open-web-advocacy.org/ ... @eu_competition : #DigitalMarketsAct #DMA Commission 🇪🇺 sends preliminary findings to Apple and opens additional non-compliance investigation against Apple under the Digital Markets Act 👇 🔗➡️ https://europa.eu/!jPPcTV [image] Filomena Chirico / @filobxl : No one should feel they are above the law because of being big and powerful, shiny and cool No one should feel entitled to ignore its users and the rights that the law gives them Innovative and law-abiding is the new cool in 🇪🇺 #dma #actdifferent Henry Foy / @henryjfoy : Huge news in the battle between Brussels and Big Tech. A move revealed earlier this month by @JavierespFT and previewed in this morning's @FT Europe Express: https://www.ft.com/... Lewis Crofts / @lewis_crofts : .@Apple response to today's new EU escalation on #DMA [image] LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski : The EU has charged the first Big Tech company under its DMA rules: Apple. The EU's preliminary findings say Apple's anti-steering developer rules breach the DMA … Forums: Hacker News : Apple is first company charged with violating EU's DMA rules r/worldnews : Apple found in breach of EU competition rules | European Commission finds iPhone maker broke new laws designed to protect smaller competitors against big tech platforms r/technology : Apple found in breach of EU competition rules | Apple r/apple : Apple's App Store rules breach EU tech rules, EU regulators say