The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) were proposed by the European Commission in December 2020. Now, collected in a "Digital Services Package," the legislation has been adopted by the European Parliament and seeks to address "gatekeeper" big tech companies.
Apple is almost certain to be classified as a "gatekeeper," due to the size of its annual turnover in the EU, its ownership and operation of platforms with a large number of active users, and its "entrenched and durable position" due to how long it has met these criteria, and will therefore be subject to the rules set out in the DMA.
Gatekeepers Will Have To:
- Allow users to install apps from third-party app stores and sideload directly from the internet.
- Allow developers to offer third-party payment systems in apps and promote offers outside the gatekeeper's platforms
- Allow developers to integrate their apps and digital services directly with those belonging to a gatekeeper.
- Give developers access to any hardware feature, such as "near-field communication technology, secure elements and processors, authentication mechanisms, and the software used to control those technologies."
- Make messaging, voice-calling, and video-calling services interoperable with third-party services upon request.
- Ensure that users have the right to unsubscribe from core platform services under similar conditions to subscription.
- Ensure that all apps are uninstallable.
- For the most important software (e.g. web browsers), not require this software by default upon installation of the operating system.
- Give users the option to change the default voice assistant to a third-party option.
- Share data and metrics with developers and competitors, including marketing and advertising performance data.
- Set up an independent "compliance function" group to monitor its compliance with EU legislation with an independent senior manager and sufficient authority, resources, and access to management.
- Inform the European Commission of their mergers and acquisitions.
But They Can No Longer:
- Give their own their own products, apps, or services preferential treatment or rank them higher than those of others.
- Reuse private data collected during a service for the purposes of another service.
- Establish unfair conditions for business users.
- Pre-install certain software applications.
- Require app developers to use certain services (e.g. payment systems or identity providers) in order to be listed in app stores.
- Require developers to use a particular browser engine, such as WebKit.
The Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires platforms to do more to police the internet for illegal content, has also been approved.
The DMA says that gatekeepers who ignore the rules will face fines of up to 10 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover, or 20 percent in the event of repeated infringements, as well as periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover. Where gatekeepers perpetrate "systematic infringements," the European Commission will be able to impose additional sanctions, such as obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it, including units, assets, intellectual property rights, or brands, or banning a gatekeeper from acquiring any company that provides services in the digital sector.
So far, Apple has heavily resisted attempts by governments to enforce changes to its operating systems and services. For example, Apple simply chose to pay a $5.5 million fine every week for months in the Netherlands instead of obey orders from the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to allow third-party payment systems in Dutch dating apps.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has set up a DMA taskforce, with about 80 officials expected to join, but some lawmakers have called for an even bigger taskforce to counter the power of big tech companies. The Digital Services Package now simply needs to be adopted by the European Council before coming into force in the fall.
Beyond the European Union, Apple's ecosystem is increasingly coming under intense scrutiny by governments around the world, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and more, with a clear appetite from global regulators to explore requirements around app sideloading and interoperability. Further cooperation is expected between regulators around the world and experts are anticipating a "brutal battle" between Apple and global regulators.
This article, "EU Approves Landmark Legislation to Regulate Apple and Other Big Tech Firms" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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