Apple has been presented with the law text, and have at multiple times been told off by the EU that they were not compliant, at some point enough is enough, laws have to be enforced.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Has 'Very Serious' DMA Issues, EU to Enforce Rules 'Soon'
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not really. They built the platform for people to make money off. Other companies want to have access to a billion clients and all their api's for free.
It is like someone walking into a Mall and demanding to be able to setup a Market in the middle of it without paying for any facilities, lighting heating and selling to all the people that walk though the doors.
F*** around and find out 
It was clear from the very beginning that this BS from Apple violates the DMA.
It was clear from the very beginning that this BS from Apple violates the DMA.
Never? iOS closed garden concept is golden egg goose which brings them loads of $$$. And because of that they cling to it and fight any regulation tooth and nail...
You know that Japan is also about to regulate Apple in the same manner? And California will follow soon after?
btw. "tech" is not limited to "tech bros from silicon valley". I would actually love for more regulation and for example complete ban of those delighted "market disruptors" like airbnb…
That would be awesome, but apple is too greedy and it's a 400mln relatively wealthy market so yeah...
Yawn... no, it's not...
You are aware that EU's followed US example with tariffs on China, right?China is getting charged for their EV products 48% tariffs. EU is pissing off the world with their hate of the world besides what's within EU limits.
Im living in the EU (Germany) and can say that the headline is wrong. Must be: EU has some serious issues […]
What are you talking about? I've never once even hinted that I think Apple should leave the EU. Obviously they shouldn't, but you were making out like it's an impossibility. Maybe you're confusing me with someone else.
Yes. But that’s totally different because this is regulation made to benefit US and hence it’s perfectly acceptable. And since China is a communist country then this tax is anti communist and therefore it’s capitalist and by definition totally legit.
/S
😂
Dumb Black Mirror episode: Cutting Edge
Most of the story is a compelling but normal narrative about a soldier preparing to enter a terrifying battle in a war-torn concrete landscape. They flashback to their nostalgic, tech-devoid life back home in soft focus, shot in the Golden Hour. Back in the present it turns out they're waging a bitter war for control of an enormous Foxconn factory. The final shot is them plunging their hand into barrel full of chiplets then thrusting a handful victoriously into the air.
FOR APPLE!
Last edited:
I read the 'law' thoughout and they are perfectly compliant under the written law. It's up to the Eu to contest that an re-write it.
There is a really simple option for Apple to comply fully ( as people see it ) and no one can say a thing. Sure you can make and publish any apps you want but you cannot have access to ANY apple API's beyond the basic use of the phone technology.
Possibly they are compliant, via serious legal gymnastics, with the text of the law in some language, but they are quite obviously not compliant with the spirit or intent of the law. In the EU laws are legally binding in 24 languages, this means that simple text isn't always able to capture the full intent of a law as it is written in any one particular language.
Last edited:
Apple acts like a bully. They’re all about anticompetitive practices in their entire business model. They’re ****ed! The world is not going to allow these massive companies to bully people and just takeover smaller growing companies. Apple steals IP all the time. They act like they’re a steward for developers but it’s a raw deal. Without the developers, iPhone wouldn’t have made it.
Apple has vertically integrated and operates as a de facto monopoly! I am all for technology, but I don’t like one company controlling everything. And they act like they’re a force of good when they’re truly evil and just power, greed, and focused on executives prospering by ensuring AAPL shareholders prosper. This can be good in real capitalism where everyone benefits. However, at this level of control, AAPL has more power and wealth than some nations. It’s absurd. And the only people prospering and getting a great deal are the wealthiest 1% and the executives. Everyone else is getting screwed by the greed and anti competitiveness of AAPL.
In a perfect world, AAPL would focus in the best interest of all stakeholders. Until governments and more importantly customers realize how bad the power is lopsided, nobody is going to do anything. Tim has ruined the future of AAPL. He has inflated the stock price at the cost of losing goodwill with customers, and I think AAPL will struggle in the next 20 years as they will no longer be allowed to act with impunity.
Apple is a premium product offering acting like a luxury company, with their customers having to have an iPhone for blue bubbles in Messages. The whole desire to control every aspect is what has to be destroyed! One company should not have so much power.
I like what the EU represents in regards to capitalism. They stop big companies from destroying all businesses and free-market capitalism. It’s a better system. Sending all our SMBs out of business as they couldn’t compete with Walmart then Amazon was ridiculous. Now, letting AAPL control everything because AAPL says they preserve our privacy and etc is all BS.
Competition is good for consumers. And America is bought out by big corporations who truly control how the government works. Big corporations didn’t build America’s middle class. It was SMBs that get crushed in tech space by companies like AAPL. Having their technology bought and often just stolen because the developer had a good idea. There is also greed in companies like Spotify, Google, Meta, and etc. None of it is good for Americans nor the rest of the world.
The problem is the level of power and control. It’s all greed based not focused on providing customers a great value proposition nor free market completion.
To me an upgrade on any Apple product is about like buying a Louis Vuitton product - can pay $3k to have that bag, but it’s made of plastic and costs less than $100 to make. That’s how AAPL operates on any upgrade. Want the matte glass on your new iPad, must buy a 1TB model with 16GB of ram that costs AAPL a total of around $13.79 for all the storage and RAM upgrades but will set a customer back at the same rate as that LV bag they wanted. That’s not a positive thing. And AAPL says they’re doing this to make products thinner and faster, but really they make products they know they can force obsolescence with so customers have to re buy every few years. It’s insane.
The ecosystem may be sticky to consumers but AAPL should not be allowed to control everything. It’s just not beneficial for consumers, developers, or employees of AAPL. The whole desire to own every aspect of what can happen on an iPhone or iPad is about greed and it definitely promotes an anticompetitive market situation that isn’t beneficial for anyone except shareholders and executives who prosper with stock grants based upon stock performance.
What built America was the middle class, and that is being destroyed by corporate greed that isn’t beneficial for anyone except the top 1%.
You can love your Apple products but still see how the system is wrong and how AAPL will be torn apart if they don’t change their ways. I hope the EU fines them 100B Euros per quarter until they stop the practices. And I hope the rest of the world follows suit.
Ok that settles it. Someone on an Internet forum read it and concluded that Apple is right. No need for lawyers and judges then.
Will you be available to settle other disputes as well?
Who cares what the European Commission thinks. They are the “bully”!
Last edited:
Any responsible CEO that wants to sell gadgets to +400 mio potential users.
It would hurt Apple more than the EU if they did. They are not the leading provider there with Android being the most used OS. Apple would be kissing goodbye to 7% of their App Store Revenue and $37b a year in hardware sales, not sure they can afford to lose that, but hey, life would go on.
Clearly, you know nothing about the EU and its principles. The EU regulates fair competition in ALL sectors, including those where its industry is at the top end of the competitive landscape (e.g.: automotive).
The point here is that we have regulations asking large companies that could prevent smaller companies from innovating and growing not to raise anti-competitive barriers. While I have some sympathy for Apple, Google, and the others, if Apple had simply stated that companies with a turnover above x million dollars have to pay a certain (large at will) amount of money to have access to the same developer program that we all pay €99/year for, there would have been no problem. But in this case, the rule is "if you use my frameworks, you will have to give me 50 cents for each download per account." If this is the rule and Apple does not allow anyone to develop their own frameworks that interact with the hardware, it is quite clear that it does not offer any real choice to developers. Their solution to constraints is a workaround to avoid their application as defined in the spirit of the regulation.
Now, I have chosen the iOS ecosystem precisely because it is closed and I feel protected by the system's intrinsic security measures. But in the EU, we also have another regulation coming up that recognizes civil and criminal liability for poorly written code that causes harm to users. Therefore, Apple does not have an obligation to use the excuse of a long arm that also protects third-party applications just to maintain a revenue model directly connected to the value created by others... people should be free to choose whether to stay within the closed ecosystem or install whatever they want at their own risk. Similarly, developers will decide to take responsibility for the security and substantial correctness of their own code.
It's not even legal gymnastics.
The Law is just poorly thought out and written, with almost zero understanding about technology and what goes into an OS to make it secure and functional. APIs, Private keys, server side technology, Access to the file system, photos messages etc. Hell even FaceTime, and FaceID/TouchId All of which the EU seem to think companies should be able to use freely without understanding how.
It's just utterly inept. Written by dozens of committees with barely any tech knowledge and talking at cross purposes sometimes.
Don't get me wrong I agree with some of it. Internet Gatekeepers should be watched. But also companies should be paid for their technology that they developed. Epic for example just want access to the Billion potential clients for free. They wrapped it up in Free market BS... but they stand to make Billions $$$...
As a fellow European, agreed. It's the ultimate honeypot for politicians, but for the rest of us, meh.
The DMA has nothing to do with taxes.
Apples devices are the most expensive in every market segment, they are being paid for the technology that they developed, that doesn't make them entitled to passive income from that particular customers future interaction with other digital enterprises.
Well no, the user and purchaser hasn't paid for the Development APIs. they don't even have access to them you need a developer account. Currently $100 a year and developers like me have pay my 30% (and now 15%) feels happily to apple for the tools they provides to help me make money. In the bad old days of physical media, I was lucky to take home 30% The retailer took 50% straight off.
And the other companies, google, Samsung subsidise their money by selling you and and any information they can gain about you, via advertising.
I guess because the iOS reached enough of the EU consumer market for it to become a concern. With greater success comes greater responsibility kind of thing.
Don't start to compare the EU to the US – the world doesn't end on money, the absolute obsession of US of A. Guess where the 'greatest country on earth' is in any quality of life rankings and how it compares to the 'unattractive EU'.
It was clear this would happen. The core fee nonsense Apple came il with was clearly illegal and it is surprising a company like Apple even tried such blatantly malicious behaviour. It’s okay, the EU will just keep fining Apple until it complies. They will learn.
Just curious, are people forgetting, an App has to have over a million downloads before they have the CTF. I would put money on, that 90% of the apps out don’t even come close to that. And Apple recently put in provisions to help combat apps that go viral.
I am starting to think, the only thing Apple will be able to do to make the EU politicians happy is to have a single option for everyone - not the old Apple rules and not the new one. If that is the case: (if I was Apple) I would change my rules to this
1: Anyone using our IP in the EU has to have a separate EU developer account.
2: Regardless of organization status (government, educational, non-profit etc.) everyone must be treated the same.
3: Apps that achieve more than 500k downloads will be subject to a .15 EU cent per download for CTF.
If Apple finds a company using their IP in the EU without a proper account - sue the stuffing out of them for IP theft.