I look forward to finding out from our favorite DMA defenders why Apple is in the wrong for not approving these requests immediately.
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Apple Says Meta is Making Unreasonable Interoperability Requests Under Europe's DMA Requirements
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I agree. There are some good arguments Apple could make here, but the ones in this response aren’t it. Apple is essentially saying, “We don’t want to let users give Meta access to sensitive information that only Apple has previously had access to.” That’s not a safety argument. It’s just a corporate preference.
or META activates by default and makes it nearly impossible to turn it off
Interoperability is indeed a two way street. lol
I think they meant "company" and mistyped country. Regardless, they should clear it up.
Nothing prevents Apple from implementing an interoperability feature that requires user consent. It already does that with things like accessing the camera roll, photos, contacts, calendars, location data, health data, home data, passkeys, reminders, etc. In this instance, Apple is saying it doesn't want to build interoperability--at all--for the kinds of things Meta wants access to. So, Apple can know who's been on the receiving end of every call you've made and the contents of every SMS you've received (without your consent, by the way), but Apple doesn't want to build the ability for you to prefer another app/developer to have primary access to that data. I would never, ever give Meta access to this data. But Apple doesn't want to let European users even have the choice.
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They have.
They can choose what to share with certain apps.
As they should be able to. They don’t need their phone manufacturer doing it for them and withholding control from users.
No one’s saying that.
But there’s truth to Meta’s statement (see the Reuters article):
“Every time Apple is called out for its anticompetitive behavior, they defend themselves on privacy grounds that have no basis in reality”
And this includes apple, Microsoft, google, amazon and such imo.
America innovates, China imitates, Europe regulates.
America innovates a spyware network, China imitates it and Europe tries to set limits to them both within its borders.
America monopolises, China manufactures, Europe moderates.
Apple should just grant the request and let the EU users bask in the glory of the DMA and all that goes along with it.
I don't like Meta and I don't trust them. But then I don't really "trust" any of these multinational ultra-rich corporations.
Having said that, to play a little DA here. What Apple is talking about is already covered by the permission system built into iOS, and especially macOS. Apps can be granted the ability to read your screen and/or keyboard input under special circumstances. Apple of course can have any of their apps do it whenever they want to, with no warnings whatsoever. We just trust that they don't, because their interests are aligned with ours such that it doesn't benefit them to do that.
What Meta is asking for is the same access. They are basically asking to run unrestricted software on Apple's computer. The fact that they have to ask this would have sounded literally insane 30 years ago, it simply would not have been a sentence people understand. I do get that it's a different world now, but the principles remain unchanged.
There exists a reasonable middle ground where people are able to make an informed decision as adults as to whether they want to trust Meta with the same access they have already given Apple. Whether people can be trusted to make their own decisions, and whether companies can be trusted to properly inform them to make those decisions, are the real questions.
I'm not saying Apple is saying something that isn't true, I'm just saying their phrasing is deliberately more inflammatory than it has to be. They certainly don't say bad things that are equally true about things they like. Like the App Store, for example.
Everyone is forgetting that iOS is owned by Apple.
If you own a shopping mall, it’s reasonable for you to have a way to get into the stores when they’re closed if you need to in case of emergency. You own the mall, stores are leasing from you, your tenants trust that you’re only going to use the master key if you absolutely need it. Imagine if city council came in and demanded that just because you have a way to get into the stores in your mall, anyone who does business in your mall is entitled to the master key too. It’s insanity.
If you own a shopping mall, it’s reasonable for you to have a way to get into the stores when they’re closed if you need to in case of emergency. You own the mall, stores are leasing from you, your tenants trust that you’re only going to use the master key if you absolutely need it. Imagine if city council came in and demanded that just because you have a way to get into the stores in your mall, anyone who does business in your mall is entitled to the master key too. It’s insanity.
"Apple warns that the integrity of iOS and iPadOS are "important considerations" and that it may not be feasible for the company to design an effective interoperability solution."
Of course it's feasible! Profitable, probably not, or not much. Remember Rosetta (2006) that allowed Intel users to run applications designed for PowerPC chips? Or Rosetta 2 (2020), which allows owners of Apple Silicon computers to run applications that haven't been updated from Intel code? If that was feasible, Apple's argument is invalid from that standpoint.
Of course it's feasible! Profitable, probably not, or not much. Remember Rosetta (2006) that allowed Intel users to run applications designed for PowerPC chips? Or Rosetta 2 (2020), which allows owners of Apple Silicon computers to run applications that haven't been updated from Intel code? If that was feasible, Apple's argument is invalid from that standpoint.
Congrats to EU and the rabid EU fanbase! You're getting everything you ever wanted - compromised security, backdoor surveillance into your private messages/emails etc.
We tried warning you. We told you what would happen and you didn't listen to our warnings but moar choice for unregulated app stores trumps all these things right?
Right?
We tried warning you. We told you what would happen and you didn't listen to our warnings but moar choice for unregulated app stores trumps all these things right?
Right?
Gosh, there really is no middle ground here, is there Apple?! It's like side loading, it's the downfall of modern day computing, will somebody think of the children?
Please tell me where Apple has any sort of monopoly. Be specific.
I'll wait.
Oh, just fyi, being a monopoly isn't illegal.
All true except Europe steals under the guise of ”consumerism”.
Well considering most the EU uses WhatsApp, clearly they are not sane when it comes to privacy issues.
And apps are regularly caught cheating, breaking TOS, etc. to spy on you.
Remember when Meta was secretly reading everything you ever copied into your clipboard, even though that was against the apps TOS on iOS?
I am on team lock Meta out - permanently and in every way you can.
There is such thing as a middle ground when it comes to companies like Meta.
Yes! Finally someone who understands how I feel about this!
These stupid "ecosystems" are the tech industry going backwards and ******tifying EVERYTHING! I want to use the best tool for the job, and look, I love Apple, but SOMETIMES their tool is not the best tool for the job.
For all those naysayers: Imagine how ******** it would be if Apple decided that the only mice that worked with Macs were Apple's own Magic Mouse. Wouldn't that suck?
Yet that's where we are right now with smartwatches and a number of other things.
This to me is the strongest argument against Apple's walled garden approach: It doesn't work. I also feel like when it comes to audits, they are not impartial and they are not always acting in your best interest. Because some vendors will be allowed to make ******** that small companies would never be allowed to make on the apple app store.