Apple has been facing pressure from the European Union (EU) regulators for a while now. We've seen Apple make some moves along the lines of opening up its ecosystem, including bringing USB-C to the iPhone, and the recent move to add RCS support to iMessage starting 2024.
However, Apple doesn't want to give in to every demand, it appears. The company has just filed a legal case against the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a report by Reuters. The Court of Justice of the European Union posted about the case on its X account, along with mentions of cases against the DMA by TikTok owner ByteDance, and Meta.
Apple has privacy concerns about the DMA
Apple's motion against the DMA isn't quite unexpected. Back in September, it had already expressed dissatisfaction over the implications of the law in a statement to Bloomberg.
Apple had said, "We remain very concerned about the privacy and data security risks the DMA poses for our users."
Apple's App Store is among 22 services that are bound to face changes over the Digital Markets Act. There was a six-month period to either follow the guidelines set by the new rule or challenge it in court. Apple has chosen the latter option after the law became applicable in March 2023.
EU’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton was quoted saying, “We are finally reining in the economic power of six gatekeepers, giving more choice to consumers and creating new opportunities for smaller innovative tech companies."
There has been a considerable amount of pressure on bigger tech companies to open up their platforms. Apple is one of the companies being scrutinized, with the focus being on allowing sideloading and third-party app stores. This would be a big move away from the current situation on iOS, where you cannot install apps from any other platform than Apple's own App Store.
The the European Commission has also started a probe to look at iPad OS, and whether it should be included in these regulations.
