Margrethe Vestager says Apple's decision not to launch its AI features in the EU is a “stunning, open declaration” of the company's anticompetitive behavior
With all the talk about how the EU believes Apple … Nehal Malik / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Intelligence Skipping Europe is Anticompetitive, Says EU Charles Fitzgerald / Platformonomics : Platformonomics TGIF #56: June 28, 2024 Kris Holt / Engadget : EU competition chief jabs at Apple from both sides over AI delay Stephen Warwick / iMore : EU says Apple withholding Apple Intelligence from the EU market is anti-competitive in frankly hilarious turn of events Debasish Mandal / Android Headlines : EU Competition Commissioner sees delay in Apple Intelligence rollout as anti-competitive Laurent Giret / Thurrott : EU Competition Chief Says Apple Intelligence Skipping the EU is “Disabling Competition” Jonny Evans / Computerworld : EU commissioner slams Apple Intelligence delay Nick Heer / Pixel Envy : No, the European Commissioner Did Not Say the Delayed Launch of Apple Intelligence Is Anticompetitive Ed Hardy / Cult of Mac : EU slams decision not to deploy Apple Intelligence in Europe Vish Gain / Silicon Republic : EU's Vestager calls Apple's decision to delay AI features ‘stunning’ Jess Weatherbed / The Verge : EU competition chief isn't happy with Apple's AI snub. iClarified : Vestager: Apple Withholding AI From EU a ‘Stunning Open Declaration’ of Anti-Competitiveness [Video] AppleInsider : EU hits back at Apple withholding Apple Intelligence from the region Edith Hancock / Politico : Vestager slices into Apple again Threads: Arun Rao / @arunsees : EU Commissioner loses it when companies pull products or don't launch them in the EU due to extreme regulatory uncertainty and arbitrary high fines. Their positions in some cases is “US companies need to launch free products in the EU.” Good luck with the digital economy and tech innovation there! M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler : Yes, it's anticompetitive behavior in that they're choosing not to compete in AI in the EU market. Benedict Evans / @benedictevans : The pointless grandstanding of the EU on things like this cuts pretty strongly against the assertion that they're just doing regulation. I remember similar things in telecoms 10 and 15 years ago. Mastodon: Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : And on that note, it would be real irresponsible of Apple to not take this into account for its new platforms, like visionOS. — It may not qualify under the DMA today, but if it succeeds as Apple hopes, it absolutely will someday. Maybe having a fair and competitive platform from the start would help it avoid the rut that iPad is in. … Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : Apple is going to spin this as ‘regulatory uncertainty’, but I don't think it's uncertain at all. And it will require a shifting of priorities in building software features, elevating ‘fairness’ right up beside privacy and security. iOS 18 might get a pass, because it was already in progress before the DMA launched. But there is no good reason for any project planned from now on to intentionally make architectural choices that will leave it in a place where it can't ship in the EU Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : You can put every single one of Apple's behaviors through that lens and predict what the outcome will be. — Is the CTF fair and enabling of competition? No — Is using Notarization as a bespoke review process fair? No — Is building new features for Apple services, without providing reasonable APIs for devs, fair? … Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : I think how the EU intends to enforce & litigate the DMA has become much clearer over the past couple weeks: Apple must allow competition in everything it does on iOS and iPadOS from now on. Not: check off a bunch of checklist items in a law in the minimum way possible to pretend you're allowing competition Not: everything Apple does on iOS and iPadOS must be available to users on other platforms (like Windows or Android) It's about fairness to the users & developers within Apple's platforms Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : @tomk @Hotdog ...no? If you want to watch the original clip I'm commenting on, I boosted it right beforehand. — What they're saying is Apple is using its power to build self-preferencing features that don't play fair (i.e. are clearly anticompetitive), and is telegraphing that behavior (by saying they are unable to release them in a market like the EU). … Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : @Hotdog ...it's not? Not releasing the features is putting up a red flag that you intend to use these features anticompetitively in whatever markets in which they do ship, which means they're going to need a closer look from legislators. The anticompetitive part isn't the not-shipping @sdw@mastodon.social : I'm not an AI fan generally but isn't it Vestager's job to regulate tech companies for consumer benefit instead of just blocking products from — even making it to market — [image] @tomk@social.lol : @Hotdog @stroughtonsmith I also am missing the point — I don't understand. So Steve, are you saying that Apple now makes it look like they only ship features to regions when there is competition in those regions? @Hotdog@hometech.social : @stroughtonsmith Maybe I'm dense but I just don't understand how BOTH releasing integrated features and not releasing integrated features can be considered anticompetitive. Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : So looks like the EU's framing of the missing feature narrative is that withholding features is a strong indicator of intent for anticompetitive conduct. This means anything Apple tries this excuse on in the future is going to open them up to further scrutiny and laser-focus legislators on potential problem areas. Good job Apple! Just what you wanted 😜 Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : 🧵 There's a lot of uninformed (meant without prejudice) conjecture in the Apple podcast world about what the DMA might or might not say, and then lengthy opinions about those imaginary provisions and how Apple may or may not be complying with them. … Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : I'm not entirely sure commentators are aware that Apple has not been shipping its full featureset around the world for decades. My country never got TV shows in iTunes. I've had an iPhone for 17 years without access to Visual Voicemail. Apple's News app isn't available here. There's no cellular Apple Watch. … Mike Wolfinbarger / @jmwolf@mastodon.social : EU: Don't ship anything that violates our rules. — Apple: Ok, we won't. — EU: Not like that. — https://9to5mac.com/... X: Isaac Benjamin / @isaacbenjamaga : @9to5mac @benlovejoy She reminds me of this meme. [Meme: Man riding a bicycle and crashing it after putting a stick in the spokes] Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : On Apple withholding AI features from the EU market, this @iMore article contains some quotes from me. Toward the end I explain that there's nothing “anticompetitive” about them prioritizing legal certainty. I want more openness, but also reasonableness. https://www.imore.com/... Tom Hebert / @tomhebertdc : “Tax Lady” @vestager's bragging to the press that she is “personally relieved” that her red tape forced Apple to delay deployment of new AI features in the EU. One bureaucrat's personal preference is enough to deprive all Europeans of new technology. https://www.politico.eu/... [image] Daniel Castro / @castrotech : Three types of comments are why people (rightly) think Brussels is anti-tech. “I was personally quite relieved that I would not get an AI-updated service on my iPhone.” - Margrethe Vestager https://www.politico.eu/... John O'Brennan / @johnobrennan2 : One of the few people in the EU who has shown real leadership over the last decade is Margret Vestager. She is still trying to make Apple comply with EU laws and taking no crap. https://www.politico.eu/... Forums: r/europe : Withholding Apple Intelligence from EU a ‘stunning declaration’ of anticompetitive behavior r/technology : Withholding Apple Intelligence from EU a ‘stunning declaration’ of anticompetitive behavior. r/ios : Withholding Apple Intelligence from EU a ‘stunning declaration’