Apple will have to abide by European rules, here’s everything that will change

Tech giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon have formally acknowledged that they are subject to the following terms: Digital Markets Act (DMA)According to Thierry Breton, European Commission’s industry chief.

As a reminder, the DMA, which came into effect on November 1, 2022 and became enforceable on May 2, 2023, It aims to regulate major online platforms and create a fairer environment for competing services.

Apple is one of the companies that will have to comply with European regulations

Unsurprisingly, Apple is finally part of the “watchdogs” (parents) who are these companies that deal with this new EU regulation. The Commission defines watchdogs as major online platforms with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization of at least 75 billion Euros.

Confirmation of the watchdog status of the companies identified, including Apple, will be announced by September 6, 2023, but the European Commission’s industry head, Thierry Breton, has already announced that the American giant is worried. Companies will later have six months to implement the necessary changes to comply with the rules.

Failure to comply with the DMA regulation could trigger an EU investigation and ” behavioral or structural corrective measures for related companies. Penalties for non-compliance may include: fine of up to 10% of total worldwide turnover and up to 20% in case of repeat offence. In case of systematic violations, penalties of up to 5% of the average daily turnover will be provided, as well as additional corrective measures.

While companies like TikTok are thought to meet quantitative DMA criteria, Failure to meet the general conditions specified in the regulationthis is a ‘keeper’ An indispensable platform for doing business online in the EU “and be a gateway” rooted between consumers and businesses.

It should also be noted that no European company has managed to enter this list, which consists entirely of American companies. But, Booking.com says it expects to reach the crawl threshold by the end of the year and said he would inform the EU administrator later. It has not yet reached the quantitative threshold due to the pandemic.

Apple will have to change a few aspects of its policy

Under DMA rules, companies considered “watchdogs” must allow interoperability with competing messaging apps, for example, and open their platforms to third-party app stores.

With its ecosystem down, Apple will have to specifically allow downloading (side-loading) third-party apps to iPhones, or even allowing the use of third-party payment systems. Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, confirmed in an interview a few weeks ago that Apple would comply with the new regulations, but did not specify when these changes would take effect. Everything suggests sideloading should come at the same time as iOS 17but we’ll have to wait to be sure.

Users must also have: freedom to choose other voice assistants, meaning iPhone owners should be able to use Google Assistant instead of Siri. Finally, remember thatApple will have to open iMessage to other services. Thus, other companies may demand service interoperability, eventually forcing Apple to comply with RCS messages.