The implementation phase of the EU Commission’s Digital Market Act (DMA) begins on March 7th. Apple is preparing numerous changes as part of iOS 17.4 – including the first-time approval of alternative App Store offerings and free browser choice. However, the way Apple approaches the measures is causing a lot of criticism from the developer community. There is some talk of “malicious compliance” (Epic Games) or a “wrong direction” (Microsoft). Spotify, the streaming service that has been lobbying for regulation against Apple in Europe since 2019, even sees an “untenable situation”. Now the most important critics of Apple’s DMA implementation have written an open letter in which they summarize their assessment again.
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Open letter with Epic, Deezer, media, fintechs and more
A total of 34 companies and groups are gathering under the Spotify umbrella. In addition to Spotify, Deezer, Epic Games, the payment services Paddle and Vipps, the security companies Threema and Proton, the major Scandinavian publisher Schibsted, 37signals and various others have also signed. Other NGOs that have signed include the European Publishers Council, France Digital, Sceriges Tidskrifter, News MEdia Europa, the European Games Developer Federation and the European Fintech Association. Digital Music Europe, the European Radio Association (AER) and the Alliance Digitale are also there. Meta and Microsoft, which also criticized Apple, are not there, but are themselves classified by the EU Commission as gatekeepers within the meaning of the DMA.
Apple’s changes violated “both the spirit and letter of the law,” the letter said. The choice between the current rules (15 or 30 percent commission) and the new ones (lower commission plus 50 cents per install per year from 1 million downloads) is an “unfeasible choice”. Both options are not DMA-compliant and “consolidate Apple’s dominance over digital markets.”
Apple’s stance “misleading and baseless”
In addition, Apple’s claims that its stance respects the security and data protection of users are “unfounded.” There are “scare screens” that worsen the user experience and are also “misleading”. The new “Core Technology Fee” (said 50 cents) plus transactions that Apple wants to charge for the use of its platform destroys competition and is simply “unfair”.
Overall, Apple’s new conditions make the business “difficult, risky and financially unattractive for developers.” Furthermore, it was criticized that there will be no real sideloading. The letter writers demand that the European Union now take rapid “decisive action against Apple”. It is a “litmus test for the DMA and the question of whether [die Kommissiom] for the citizens and the economy of Europe”. This is the only way to “ensure that the DMA remains both credible and delivers competitive digital markets”.
(bsc)