{"id":43031,"date":"2024-04-30T17:07:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T21:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=43031"},"modified":"2024-04-30T17:44:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T21:44:34","slug":"ipados-also-a-digital-gatekeeper-in-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/30\/ipados-also-a-digital-gatekeeper-in-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"iPadOS Also a Digital Gatekeeper in EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim Hardwick<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

EU antitrust officials on Monday identified iPadOS, Apple’s operating system for iPads, as a significant digital gatekeeper<\/a> under the EU’s new tech regulations, which carry strict requirements that aim to promote fair competition and expand options for consumers. <\/p>

[…]<\/p>

“Apple’s business user numbers exceeded the quantitative threshold elevenfold, while its end user numbers were close to the threshold and are predicted to rise in the near future.”<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The Commission has now given Apple a six-month deadline to fully comply with the obligations set by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which means we should expect enforced changes in iOS like alternative app marketplaces, web distribution, and alternative browsers to come to iPadOS as well in a forthcoming update.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

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

\n

The “lock-in” is basically just features exclusive to Apple’s own platforms. I’m not even sure how Apple could possibly create a platform without “lock-in”.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, iPadOS is clearly more of a marketing distinction than a technical one. It’s iOS under the hood, so I doubt it’ll be much trouble for Apple to apply its DMA compliance features from iOS to iPadOS. I would have been surprised if the EC had not<\/em> decided to designate iPadOS a “gatekeeping” platform, and I’m guessing Apple itself is unsurprised as well.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

See also: Jeff Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n