I7guy
macrumors Westmere
Giving users access to outside services is not innovative. It’s dangerous. Do you want your personal data hanging out there? Maybe some do, but I can envision Apple won’t.
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Apple Faces First Italian DMA Probe on iCloud Interoperability
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I7guy
macrumors Westmere
Okay and? Pick your choice of platform. If apple doesn’t do it for you. No matter what options are chosen, someone will complain. Too many options someone will complain. Not enough options someone will complain.
It’s not like Goldilocks and the three bears where the middle porridge is just right.
You’re right that it’s not analogous, but it IS still a decision that a company offering a product could make AND people would be free to decide that, “Wait, that’s not a thing I like! I’m going to buy another thing that DOES do the thing I like!” For every, “Well you wouldn’t like…” analogy the assumption in their wording is “Here’s two things every human must have (in this case Apple device/Netflix), no question, no exception! So by putting these things in opposition to each other, it presents a no-win situation!” They can’t envision a life without Apple products or without Netflix so a decision like that in their mind is impossible to make!
They don’t understand how millions every day could choose to not use a product (in this case, Apple devices) even though that’s what the majority of people do every day.
ProbablyDylan
macrumors 68040
Sounds like something the user should determine for themselves. They can still pick iCloud if they're so inclined.
“Nothing negative has EVER happened by giving a third party unfettered access to a first party system!!” 😀
It really sucks that people in the EU are apparently not free to buy Android devices that do this thing. Either that or unable to buy products that do what they want them to do?
litmag01
macrumors 6502
I might be reading this wrong but you can definitely do this locally. If over network no. I guess Apple could do waiver of liability to allow users to do that, but… lawyers ew.
uacd
macrumors 68000
There is a choice. But it must be convenient to use, either of them. When Apple makes all options unintuitive except the one that gives them additional income - that’s intentional downgrade.
You can have a gigabit Internet but you will never have gigabit upload speeds with iCloud, because their servers are so slow. Google is slightly faster and Microsoft is the worst, they probably send your files to FBI for analysis/hashing first and only then they would actually start the upload🤣
Having no “eject” button in 2026 is sooo backwards. It is like having no favorite tabs in a browser
Samplasion
macrumors 6502a
It's not like they said Apple can't pull out. Are you saying a company's board of directors should hold more power than a union of democratically elected governments?
Samplasion
macrumors 6502a
Yeah, having to occasionally use a USB cable just because the Mac doesn't see the iPhone is really annoying. Plus it'd be so much more convenient to have automatic backups just as iCloud does
Samplasion
macrumors 6502a
I almost guarantee something like Nextcloud would come out with an integration in the first year
Madmic23
macrumors 6502a
Would you like Apple to block non-Apple websites in Safari too? Your data is already out there, your Apple device is a way to access your information from different services / companies that you interact with.
A lot of people use Gmail on their iPhone. Should Apple block that and only allow you to use iCloud mail? That would be crazy.
Your iCloud backup data is encrypted on your phone before it's backed up in iCloud. That means it would be encrypted before going to a different cloud backup service provider as well, so your data would be just as safe.
Don't let Apple scare you into giving them more money. People should choose to backup to iCloud because they get the best amount of storage for the price, not because they're not allowed to use any other options.
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huge_apple_fangirl
macrumors 6502a
Unlike the Siri AI stuff, this is actually a reasonable demand from the DMA. I’m sure Apple will say that it’s just “security and privacy” reasons to favor iCloud, but the real point is to force people into subscriptions. I hope Apple is forced to change and rolls this out worldwide.
Actually it's an example of abuse of monopolistic power, and if you are on iOS, then you can switch backup services etc, so no it's not an example of a free market working.
How dare you come on here with such a well reasoned argument. 🤣
zarmanto
macrumors 65816
I have no idea what you're on about. I personally prefer to let the Photos app on my iMac manage my iPhone import, but you absolutely can just import whichever photos you want to directly to a folder, using the Image Capture app. Apart from those first-party options, you could also download any of an ever growing field of third-party tools that can accommodate this need, on either Mac or Windows.
It is an example of Apple forcing you to use their own cloud, so I would argue it is covered under the DMA
Glideslope
macrumors G3
gaximus
macrumors 68020
But you're not forced to have Apple, and if you're already using Android and Linux, then swap to that.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
Strawman.
Another strawman. My data is in iCloud and I can trust it’s encrypted properly.
Another strawman with now relevance to the analogies.
Unless you have SPD turned on, Apple has the keys for backup. You gonna trust your keys to a third party provider? Or if you lose your phone your cloud data is gone?
Apple doesn’t scare me into giving them more money. I buy the subscriptions I actually need.
People should or don’t choose backup to iCloud. Or you can roll your own.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
I agree in part about user discretion. Apple is a vertically integrated system. Use those or cloud service or not. The user can decide that.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
I would agree if they did that. But they don’t. Now we can certainly debate this ad-nauseum.
Don’t know what this has to do with anything. iCloud is a backup service, not a real time compute service.
I have no clue as to what this means.
IIGS User
macrumors 65816
That's not what I said and you know it. My comment basically made the assertion that Apple should pull out as it relates to the features in question.
Apple's board of directors does have more power than a union of democratically elected governments in so much as where they choose to do business. The EU doesn't have the power to force Apple to do business there. Much the same way they don't have the power to force Apple to provide services like iCloud, or the "new" Siri AI. Apple can just say fine, we won't offer it. Your regulatory structure isn't worth it to do business with you.
Hence, people in the EU don't get access to those features because their union of democratically elected governments imposed regulations that make it not worth doing business with the people who elected them.
My biggest issue was the notion that a union of democratically elected governments thinks it has the authority to take 10% of WORLDWIDE revenue from a company.
A company that is organized outside their jurisdiction that serves many many more people than said union of democratically elected governments. What say do those people have in the process? Said union has seen fit to impose their will on WORLDWIDE revenues.
As I originally stated. If I were Apple, no more iCloud in the EU. Like you said, no one is forcing Apple to do business there, or to offer certain features there. You are free to back up your iPhone to a PC or a Mac if you want to back up your phone. That's fine. No one is telling you the ONLY way to back up your phone is via iCloud.
The representatives of a union of democratically elected governments is telling Apple how to run their business. Apple's board of directors has the absolute authority to decide what features they offer and where they are offered. So in that respect, they do have more power.
If the people of the EU want these features, they can address that issue with their democratically elected officials and change their laws accordingly.
Or do you think a union of democratically elected officials should have the power to force a company incorporated in a country outside it's jurisdiction to do business with them? On their terms?
Enjoy your stripped down version of iOS Europe, courtesy of your democratically elected officials.
The Chinese iCloud is already managed by a local entity controlled by the government.