{"id":42648,"date":"2024-03-26T16:17:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=42648"},"modified":"2024-04-01T14:38:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T18:38:09","slug":"dma-non-compliance-investigations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/03\/26\/dma-non-compliance-investigations\/","title":{"rendered":"DMA Non-Compliance Investigations"},"content":{"rendered":"

European Commission<\/a> (via Hacker News<\/a>, MacRumors<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Today, the Commission has opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) into Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta’s “pay or consent model”.<\/p>

The Commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The Commission has opened proceedings against Apple regarding their measures to comply with obligations to (i) enable end users to easily uninstall any software applications on iOS, (ii) easily change default settings on iOS and (iii) prompt users with choice screens which must effectively and easily allow them to select an alternative default service, such as a browser or search engine on their iPhones.<\/p>

The Commission is concerned that Apple’s measures, including the design of the web browser choice screen, may be preventing users from truly exercising their choice of services within the Apple ecosystem, in contravention of Article 6(3) of the DMA.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

Apple’s new fee structure and other terms and conditions for alternative app stores and distribution of apps from the web (sideloading) may be defeating the purpose of its obligations under Article 6(4) of the DMA.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

You could have set your watch by this announcement dropping the week after the EC held compliance “workshops”. There was no way any of these companies weren’t going to be “investigated” and I doubt there’s any way they won’t eventually get fined. Whether any of them will ever need to pay those fines<\/a>, that I wouldn’t bet on.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

But most of the built-in apps in iOS can be removed from your iPhone the exact same way you delete apps from the App Store. There’s a handful that can’t, among them: Settings, Camera, Photos, App Store, Phone, Messages, and Safari. You can remove those apps from your Home Screen, but they remain in your App Library. If the EC is really going to investigate Apple over removing default apps, I presume they’re thinking that Safari, in particular, needs to be deletable, because making it un-deletable is a form of preferencing? It’s all guess work. I further suppose they might want the App Store app to be deletable, but that’s a problem because it’s through the App Store that a user can re-install built-in apps they’ve previously deleted.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

There’s no mechanism for a new browser that was never in the App Store to be included in the choice screen until a year after it becomes popular enough — via sideloading or distribution through alternative app marketplaces — to make the list. But DMA article 6(3) doesn’t actually say that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ben Lovejoy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

If that investigation confirms that Apple failed to comply with the antitrust law, then the iPhone maker could be fined up to 10% of its worldwide turnover – increasing to 20% for repeat infringements …<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Such investigations take time, but in this case the stated goal is to complete it in less than a year – which is lightning speed by the usual standard.<\/p>\n

That won’t be the end of matters, however. If the EU does find Apple non-compliant, the Cupertino company will appeal the ruling, and we will then be set for literally years of court battles as the case works its way up the court hierarchy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

A few readers have asked about my speculation<\/a> that Apple, along with the other DMA-designated gatekeepers (none of which are European companies of course), might reasonably pull out of the relatively small EU market rather than risk facing disproportionately large fines from the European Commission.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

So EU member states account for only 25–30 percent of Apple’s revenue from “Europe”, and just 7 percent globally. 7 percent is significant, to be sure, and in addition to users, there are of course many iOS and Mac developers in EU countries. I really don’t know what Apple pulling out of the EU would even look like, but it would be ugly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n