EU’s DMA Proposal Pretty Much Everything Apple Does Not Want

28 MARCH 2022 - The EU hit with its Digital Markets Act plan on Friday and it pretty much sounds like everything Apple does not want. In addition to the interoperability for messaging apps about which we heard last week, a piece from The Verge says all of the European Commission’s initial proposals are still present. That includes making room on Android and iOS devices for app stores besides the ones run by Google and Apple, allowing “users to install apps from third-party sources,” and allowing developers in app stores run by Google and Apple to use third-party payment processors for transactions pertaining to their applications. 

On the proposed actions, European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke said:

We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it… This freedom includes being able to opt for alternative sources of apps on your smartphone. With the DMA, a smartphone owner would still be able to enjoy safe and secure services of the default app store on their smart phones. On top of that, if a user so chooses, the DMA would allow a smartphone owner to also opt for other safe app stores.

Apple and Google Bummed By DMA Proposals

The proposals aren’t law yet, though The Verge seems to see it as a fait accompli. Not surprisingly, neither Apple nor Goole are stoked. A piece from Apple Insider had its Cupertino-namesake basically sticking with the statement it made last week ahead of Friday’s announcement. The piece had Apple saying:

[Parts of the DMA] will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users… Others will prohibit us from charging for intellectual property in which we invest a great deal.

For its part, Google said:

We support many of the DMA's ambitions around consumer choice and interoperability… We remain concerned that some of the rules could reduce innovation and the choice available to Europeans.

Passage could happen as early as this October, according to The Verge. “Members states of the EU will then be able to choose how exactly to interpret the EU act into national law,” according to the report.