Scoop: Apple to appeal EU requirement to share info with tech rivals
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Apple filed an appeal to the European Commission's specifications around how the company complies with its interoperability requirements, which compel it to share user information with outside developers as part of the Digital Markets Act, per a source familiar with the situation.
Why it matters: Apple continues to push back forcefully against requirements imposed by the DMA, which the company has said forces it to give up its intellectual property and compromise user privacy.
- The deadline to appeal this particular requirement was May 30.
How it works: The interoperability requirements are meant to give other device manufacturers and app developers access to Apple features that are normally exclusive to Apple products, including WiFi pairing and notifications on non-Apple smartwatches and headsets.
- Apple and Meta were the first companies to be hit with DMA fines in April, as Axios first reported.
- Apple put out a report last December arguing that the DMA's interoperability reports could be abused and expose private user information.
What they're saying: "We design our technology to work seamlessly together, so it can deliver the unique experience our users love and expect from our products. The EU's interoperability requirements threaten that foundation, while creating a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation," an Apple spokesperson told Axios.
- "These requirements will also hand data-hungry companies sensitive information, which poses massive privacy and security risks to our EU users."
- Per the Apple spokesperson, as allowed under the DMA's interoperability requirement, companies including Meta, Google, Garmin and Spotify have requested from Apple information like user notification content and stored WiFi networks, "giving them the ability to access personal information that even Apple doesn't see."
- The spokesperson added, "In the end, these deeply flawed rules that only target Apple—and no other company—will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe, leading to an inferior user experience for our European customers."
The other side: Companies that rely on the App Store to distribute their products have welcomed the DMA's requirements of Apple, saying they are long overdue for developers and other businesses to offer customers better features on their apps and devices.
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