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The European Commission is empowered to impose escalating daily fines of up to 5% of Apple's average global turnover.

Maybe I’m just a stupid, rowdy American but I cannot see how the EU can fine Apple as a percentage of its global turnover. Maybe its turnover in the EU. What is clear to me is that the European regulators are in over their heads on this one.
 
Good gawd! The EU needs to say exactly what they want Apple to do and Apple needs to do exactly--letter of the law*--what the EU says. This game of cat and mouse gets tiresome after a few years.

*malicious compliance. If you want to show that a rule is stupid, follow it to the letter. The results will speak for itself.
The European Commission is empowered to impose escalating daily fines of up to 5% of Apple's average global turnover.

Maybe I’m just a stupid, rowdy American but I cannot see how the EU can fine Apple as a percentage of its global turnover. Maybe its turnover in the EU. What is clear to me is that the European regulators are in over their heads on this one.
They can fine Apple up to 100% of what they make in the EU. As long as the EU market is more than 5% of Apple's global revenue, they get away with it with some dirty accounting.
 
I do t want the iPhone like the Mac. Why should your requirements override mine?
I’m not saying they should, merely that Apple should have parity across its platforms. Having other storefronts and the ability to directly sideload an ipa file doesn’t invalidate nor compromise the App Store delivery model if that’s what a user is comfortable with. As with the Mac, you could just use Apple’s portal, never visit another and be perfectly safe. Most Android users exclusively use the Play Store for this exact reason.
 
They should just pull the iPhone out of the EU and let them go back to using flip phones, or suffer with the lacklustre, pedestrian Android devices. The EU makes things suck for the rest of us - case-in-point, having to accept cookies on each website you go to. Thanks for that EU.
This seems to pop up in every one of these threads. The EU said that websites couldn’t collect data without permission from users. The spirit of the ruling was to stop websites collecting data. Websites had other ideas and put up a permission slip every time you visit. They’re annoying as heck but the websites can choose to not collect data and not use the cookie slip. Blame where blame is due.
 
This seems to pop up in every one of these threads. The EU said that websites couldn’t collect data without permission from users. The spirit of the ruling was to stop websites collecting data. Websites had other ideas and put up a permission slip every time you visit. They’re annoying as heck but the websites can choose to not collect data and not use the cookie slip. Blame where blame is due.
And the blame goes to the EU. If you’re going to regulate you need to think through the potential consequences of your regulations. You can’t assume everything will happen the way you want it to just because. The EU should have learned that lesson long ago, but hasn’t.

The fact of the matter is we wouldn’t have those popups if the EU hadn’t gotten involved, so it’s the EU’s fault.
 
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I’m not saying they should, merely that Apple should have parity across its platforms. Having other storefronts and the ability to directly sideload an ipa file doesn’t invalidate nor compromise the App Store delivery model if that’s what a user is comfortable with.
Apple thinks otherwise. And millions of customers agree with Apple. Who is the EU to say they know better? Especially when there’s a platform that allows you to do that if it is important to you.
As with the Mac, you could just use Apple’s portal, never visit another and be perfectly safe. Most Android users exclusively use the Play Store for this exact reason.
Glad we agree all of this is being done for almost no actual benefit for everyone. Great job, EU!
 
The eu wants to make iOS equal android. iOS is iOS and is popular for a reason. The small minority who don’t like Apple to have this control have alternatives.
All the EU has done is taken what makes Apple special and given it away to its competitors for free.
If you believe that a monopoly on distribution of apps is (almost) all that makes iOS iOS and differentiates it from Android, that’s sad. Really sad. 😔
 
Yes Apple will have to. Apple should absolutely follow the laws in the jurisdictions it operates in.

Doesn't mean it's a good law, morally right, won't make products worse, or completely explain why the EU is a wasteland when it comes to innovation.
You’re mistaking the lack of consumer-facing mega companies like Apple or Google for a lack of innovation. But that’s a category error. The EU doesn’t churn out viral apps or clone startups to chase VC hype it builds the infrastructure that U.S. companies depend on to even function.

Why? Because Europe funded long-term R&D, integrated cross-border innovation, and regulated for competition, not for quarterly profits or market consolidation or to maximize shallow investor returns.

While the U.S. was busy offshoring and consolidating, Europe was making bets on deep tech that actually paid off. What America calls “innovation” often amounts to scaling UX polish and acquisitions not real technological breakthroughs.

Here’s what actual innovation looks like:
  • ASML (NL): The only company in the world that makes EUV lithography machines. No ASML, no cutting-edge chips. Apple, Nvidia, AMD, TSMC, Intel all rely on it. The U.S. government literally tried to protect its domestic lithography industry (GCA, SVG, etc.). ASML still crushed them. Not because the U.S. dropped the ball because Europe out-innovated and never stopped investing.
  • Infineon (DE): Core supplier of EV chips, power semiconductors, and industrial controls. Tesla’s supply chain runs through them.
  • Ericsson (SE) & Nokia (FI): Building over 50% of global 5G RAN infrastructure including the U.S. market. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all depend on them. Huawei? Banned. Cisco? Out of the game.
  • Adyen (NL) & Stripe (IE): The back-end of global digital payments. Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Meta? They’re all running their payments through EU infrastructure.
  • SAP (DE): The world’s biggest ERP provider. No U.S. equivalent exists at this scale. Runs 87% of global commerce through its ERP systems. Name a Fortune 500 it’s running SAP
  • Siemens (DE): Builds smart factories, mobility systems, power grids, and medical tech. Quietly powers the industrial world
  • BioNTech (DE): Delivered the first approved mRNA vaccine in the West. Moderna wasn’t first. Pfizer licensed from BioNTech.
  • ARM (UK): The CPU architecture for every smartphone on Earth. Apple’s M-series is just a high-end implementation.
  • Airbus (FR/DE): The only serious rival to Boeing and unlike them, Airbus actually makes planes that fly without falling apart mid-air. It leads on fuel efficiency, safety, and next-gen aviation R&D. And while Boeing’s still in Senate hearings, Airbus is busy delivering jets on time.
  • Philips (NL): No longer just light bulbs now a leader in medical imaging, diagnostics, and hospital technology.
  • KONE (FI): Global leader in elevators, escalators, and urban vertical mobility. Probably built the one you took this morning.
  • Celonis (DE): Invented and leads the “process mining” category Fortune 500 firms use it to analyze and optimize business systems.
  • SWIFT (BE): Runs the backbone of global bank-to-bank payments. Still dominant despite U.S. attempts to build alternatives.

You don’t see this on iPhone commercials because it’s not consumer-facing. It’s foundational. Europe builds what America runs on.

TL;DR:


America builds empires. Europe builds the infrastructure they run on.

No EU? Then your iPhone doesn’t boot, your chips don’t print, your vaccines don’t exist, and your networks don’t connect. Europe doesn’t “move fast and break things.” We build slow, own the critical layers, and let the U.S. sell it back with shiny packaging.

That’s why we regulate gatekeepers not because we hate tech, but because we know scale without checks kills real innovation. You don’t get another ASML or ARM by letting companies hoard control.

Call it boring or invisible but every time you unlock your phone, pay online, stream Netflix, or use your headphones, you’re relying on European tech. The EU isn’t a tech wasteland. It’s the foundation. You’re just too distracted by the screen on top and arrogant to notice it.
 
Blah Blah viruses but we avoid those as a medical condition by properly educating people, not making them 100% reliable on big pharma.

Yeah!! We need to educate people that you can absolutely have your beloved open platform by switching to Android!

Increased competition only improves things for customers in the end

In general? No. See:
Sling TV
DirecTV Stream
YouTube TV
Fubo
Philo
Hulu + Live TV
LG Channel Plus
NBC News Now
Spectrum TV
Pluto.tv
Xumo
KlowdTV
Frndly TV
NOW TV
Max
AMC+
Lifetime Movie Club
Paramount+
History Vault
Peacock
Disney+
Disney+ Star
Showtime
Hallmark Movies Now
Starz
MGM+
Netflix
Hulu
Crackle
Popcornflix
Vudu
Discovery+
Fearless.li
Vimeo
PantaFlix
Volta
Roku
RedBox
Tubi TV
IMDb TV
Apple iTunes
Google Play
Shout Factory TV
FlixFling
Amazon Prime Video
Facebook Watch
Outside TV
Crunchyroll
Funimation Now
VRV
Dove Channel
BritBox
Acorn TV
Turner Classic Movies
Hi-Yah
KocawaTV
BroadwayHD
DC Universe Infinite
Curiosity Stream
GuideDoc
HIDIVE
UP Faith and Family
Blaze TV
Hopster TV
Great American Pure Flix
Fandor
Gaia
Qello
Screambox
Sundance Now
Hayu
Hoopla
allblk
Revry
Mubi
Short of the Week
Kanopy
Rakuten Viki
Shudder
ESPN+
NBA League Pass
NFL Game Pass
Willow TV
F1 TV
Ginx
NHL.TV
Twitter
DAZN
WWE Network
Bleacher Report
MLB.TV
PokerGo
Twitch
MOTORTREND+
UFC Fight Pass

and opening up distribution leaves room for startup business models.

Because every consumer is dying for another PC gaming digital distribution platform instead of enjoying their entire library on Steam, right?

Had Microsoft locked down Windows to only their store and they didn't improve their store, I'd simply switch to SteamOS and buy all of my games for that operating system because Valve knows how to do digital distribution properly
 
And the blame goes to the EU. If you’re going to regulate you need to think through the potential consequences of your regulations. You can’t assume everything will happen the way you want it to just because. The EU should have learned that lesson long ago, but hasn’t.

The fact of the matter is we wouldn’t have those popups if the EU hadn’t gotten involved, so it’s the EU’s fault.
Before popup -> data collection without consent
After popup -> I can opt out of data collection or (if you prefer the old way) just click allow all.

I would love for deny all to be the default and the EU is taking some action to make it easier to deny all, however the new way (post regulation) is better from the perspective of someone who wants to limit the use of their data.

The fact that it is cumbersome to opt out is not the indictment you think it is because before this regulation you could not opt out at all.
 
Apple should just drop EU.

EU gave us cookie popups. EU caused more ewaste by forcing Apple to switch to USB-C prematurely. EU doesn't know what they're doing.
Switching to USB-C was overdue.
And the cookie popups are merely a reaction to the (most American) advertising and behaviour tracking industry.

👉 Prior user consent is not required for strictly necessary cookies (e.g. the ones that keep your virtual shopping baskets)

Had Microsoft locked down Windows to only their store and they didn't improve their store, I'd simply switch to SteamOS and buy all of my games for that operating system because Valve knows how to do digital distribution properly
Had Microsoft locked down Windows to their own store ca. 2008, Steam would not be a “thing” for you to switch to.
It wouldn’t even exist anymore.
That is the point.
 
Last edited:
Apple should just drop EU.

EU gave us cookie popups. EU caused more ewaste by forcing Apple to switch to USB-C prematurely. EU doesn't know what they're doing.
I didn’t know in the EU law that you want to site it states: must ask for consent in the most super annoying way imaginable 🙄.

As the famous U.S. saying is. Use websites without annoying pop ups.

And no premature waste is made because the phones in circulation can still use the cable. The moment you sell your lightning iPhone you can include all the cables. And use the new included usb c cable in your new iPhone

Yeah!! We need to educate people that you can absolutely have your beloved open platform by switching to Android!



In general? No. See:
Sling TV
DirecTV Stream
YouTube TV
Fubo
Philo
Hulu + Live TV
LG Channel Plus
NBC News Now
Spectrum TV
Pluto.tv
Xumo
KlowdTV
Frndly TV
NOW TV
Max
AMC+
Lifetime Movie Club
Paramount+
History Vault
Peacock
Disney+
Disney+ Star
Showtime
Hallmark Movies Now
Starz
MGM+
Netflix
Hulu
Crackle
Popcornflix
Vudu
Discovery+
Fearless.li
Vimeo
PantaFlix
Volta
Roku
RedBox
Tubi TV
IMDb TV
Apple iTunes
Google Play
Shout Factory TV
FlixFling
Amazon Prime Video
Facebook Watch
Outside TV
Crunchyroll
Funimation Now
VRV
Dove Channel
BritBox
Acorn TV
Turner Classic Movies
Hi-Yah
KocawaTV
BroadwayHD
DC Universe Infinite
Curiosity Stream
GuideDoc
HIDIVE
UP Faith and Family
Blaze TV
Hopster TV
Great American Pure Flix
Fandor
Gaia
Qello
Screambox
Sundance Now
Hayu
Hoopla
allblk
Revry
Mubi
Short of the Week
Kanopy
Rakuten Viki
Shudder
ESPN+
NBA League Pass
NFL Game Pass
Willow TV
F1 TV
Ginx
NHL.TV
Twitter
DAZN
WWE Network
Bleacher Report
MLB.TV
PokerGo
Twitch
MOTORTREND+
UFC Fight Pass
Perhaps time to outlaw exclusive distribution rights then. So all streaming platforms can stream everyone’s content for a licensing fee.
Because every consumer is dying for another PC gaming digital distribution platform instead of enjoying their entire library on Steam, right?

Had Microsoft locked down Windows to only their store and they didn't improve their store, I'd simply switch to SteamOS and buy all of my games for that operating system because Valve knows how to do digital distribution properly
Had windows done that then steam would have never existed in the first place.

And steamOs would have never been developed for you to use
 
And no premature waste is made because the phones in circulation can still use the cable. The moment you sell your lightning iPhone you can include all the cables
Let’s be real about the cables:

Some of them will go to e-waste that otherwise wouldn’t.
It’s bound to happen sooner or later anyway, when a manufacturer as high-profile as Apple) switches to new connectors.

But every year Apple would have been holding off from switching to what everyone else has been using (for years) would have increased e-waste over the long term.

The benefits of a common charging port were not realised immediately or yesterday - they will be realised over the longer term.
 
I want the EU to leave Apple with only one choice - allow normal software installation.

I'm sick of "app stores" and Apple being the gatekeeper for what I can install on MY iPhone. The nonsense needs to stop worldwide.
Well, you have a choice.
I for one prefer Apples model, so I want it to continue “as is” - worldwide
 
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