Apple has become the first company to be accused of violating the EU's Digital Markets Act

The Apple App Store policy violates the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), aimed at promoting competition, regulators said in their preliminary ruling. The European Commission has also launched a new investigation into the support of Apple for alternative iOS trading platforms in Europe, including fees for essential technologies that it charges developers.

According to the DMA, Apple and other so-called gatekeepers must allow developers to freely direct consumers to offers outside their app stores. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft are the six gatekeepers that were required to fully comply with the new rules as of March 2024.

Apple became the first company to be charged under the DMA rules after the EU antitrust authority initiated several investigations in March. Meta and Google are also being carefully examined for non-compliance.

At the same time, Apple disagrees with the EC's preliminary findings and states that it complies with the new EU requirements.

"Over the past few months, Apple has made a number of changes in accordance with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission," said Apple representative Peter Ajemian. "All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to use the features we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the internet for purchases at very competitive prices. Like before, we will continue to listen to the European Commission and collaborate with it."

Apple has time to respond to the European Commission's preliminary assessment before its final decision until March 2025. The company could be fined for a violation of up to 10% of its annual global revenue, or $38 billion based on last year's data. For a repeat violation, the penalty increases to 20%.

The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into the support of Apple for alternative app stores for iOS. The investigation focuses on the disputed commission for essential technology, a labor-intensive multi-step process necessary for users to install third-party trading platforms, and Apple's requirements for developers.

Source: The Verge