The EU Commission orders Apple to open iOS to third-party connected devices, and in preliminary findings charges Google with breaking the DMA in search and apps
EU continues Big Tech crackdown under landmark Digital Markets Act — Brussels is pressing ahead with regulatory action …
Context & Ripple Effects
This action extends the Commission’s enforcement arc from its formal DMA investigations into Apple and Google to a concrete interoperability order and new preliminary findings. Apple had already faced preliminary scrutiny over anti-steering rules for developers, making this a broader test of how far DMA obligations reach into platform control.
The story matters because it addresses two distinct gatekeeper advantages at once: Apple’s control of iOS access for connected devices and Google’s conduct in search and apps. It moves the coverage from investigations of terms and distribution rules toward operational changes to core platform interfaces.
First-order effects
- Apple must make iOS interoperable with third-party connected devices under the Commission’s order, directly affecting the company’s control over device access to its platform.
- Google now faces preliminary DMA breach findings covering its search and app services, requiring it to defend or alter the practices under review before the case is resolved.
Second-order effects
- Third-party connected-device makers gain a clearer regulatory route to seek iOS access, while Apple must translate a legal interoperability obligation into technical and commercial rules.
- The paired actions raise the compliance stakes for other designated platform services: app-distribution terms, search presentation and access policies are more likely to be assessed as connected parts of gatekeeper control rather than isolated product decisions.
Third-order effects
- If this enforcement pattern holds, the DMA will increasingly function as a mechanism for reshaping platform interfaces and business rules, not merely policing individual app-store clauses.
- The central long-term contest is whether mandated access can reduce gatekeeper leverage without creating fragmented or overly burdensome implementation regimes; the Commission’s orders and ensuing responses will determine that balance.
The trend: EU DMA enforcement is progressing from investigations into platform conduct toward prescriptive interoperability and service-design remedies for major digital gatekeepers.