The European Union has sent Apple preliminary instructions on how it expects the iPhone maker to comply with interoperability provisions in the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), its flagship market contestability reform.
According to the Commission, device manufacturers and app developers should be able to access nine iOS connectivity features that were restricted to Apple’s exclusive use before, such as peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC features and device pairing. As a result, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches, connected TVs or other, non-Apple devices should work better with an iPhone. Google could also use this opportunity to make AirDrop work with Android devices.
This follows the Commission’s opening of two specification proceedings on Apple back in September – one of which focused on ensuring the DMA’s interoperability requirements are effectively met when it comes to Apple allowing connected devices to tap into iOS’s connectivity features, including notifications and device pairing.
The second concerns requests for interoperability made by third-party app developers with features of Apple’s iOS and iPadOS platforms. In that case, the Commission recommends improved access to technical documentation as well as better communication with third-party companies using those features. The EU is asking for “timely communication and updates, and a more predictable timeline for the review of interoperability requests.”
The proceedings are possible because Apple has been designated as a “gatekeeper” under the DMA, with both its mobile platforms subject to the regulation’s interoperability rules for so-called “core platform services”. (Reminder: Penalties for non-compliance with the DMA can reach up to 10% of global annual turnover.)
While the legislation contains plenty of upfront details about how gatekeepers are expected to comply with the various provisions – such as bans on gatekeepers self-preferencing and, indeed, interoperability mandates – the law also allows the Commission to set out more specific instructions where it believes extra detail is needed to ensure effective compliance.
The EU is concerned that Apple is not providing a level playing field for third-party connected devices to integrate with its platforms – to, for example, be able to properly display iOS notifications on a non-Apple smartwatch screen, or have a smooth iPhone pairing experience with a (non-Apple) smart speaker.
Apple isn’t happy about either the DMA, in general, or these specific interoperability mandates.
In the case of the latter, it accuses the EU of singling out its business – since no other gatekeepers have been subject to specification proceedings, as yet.
In a background briefing with journalists ahead of the EU releasing preliminary findings on the proceedings, Apple also attacked the Commission’s actions as anti-innovation, framing the moves as meddling micromanagement by public officials.
The company argues that the bloc’s actions could end up limiting which technologies and features it makes available in the region since it said the DMA will mean it’s forced to make all its innovations immediately available to rivals – suggesting it will therefore have to invest engineering time in testing and debugging third-party integrations prior to shipping new features in the EU.
Additionally, Apple claims the specification proceedings could lead to dire consequences for its European users’ privacy and security – since it says the bloc is requiring that it sends unencrypted data to third parties. According to Apple, the Commission rejected suggestions it made to try and mitigate some of these risks.
Apple claims the interoperability requirements mean it will be forced to expose potentially sensitive user data – from notifications containing personal messages or one-time-codes, to details of Wi-Fi networks users have joined – to outside developers that could abuse the information for tracking and profiling.
Social media ad giant Meta – whose business empire is based on tracking and profiling to sell ads – has been a leading requester of app interoperability capabilities, per Apple.
Because of the EU’s interpretation of the law, Apple also says it will be unable to take steps to protect users from entities seeking to use the DMA to obtain unfettered access to their information for their own commercial gain.
Apple also told TechCrunch the EU barred Apple from providing information to users about potential risks when they agree to receive their iOS notifications on a third party device – in this case users will see a pop-up, per Apple, but it will just ask if they wish to receive their notifications on the connected device, without the additional context the company believes users should also be given.
So called Apple “scare screens” – aka, info pop-ups related to third party transactions, interactions or access where the company frames contact with external entities as risky for its users – have been a perennial gripe of some developers, including those who lobbied the EU to pass the DMA, as they suggest the company deploys such tactics maliciously, to undermine the openness the regulation is shooting for.
In a statement following the EU’s preliminary decision on the specification proceedings, Apple said: “Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules. It’s bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users.”
A level playing field
While Apple frames the DMA as anti-innovation, several smaller companies have been complaining about the company’s (lack of) interoperability. Earlier this week, when Pebble creator Eric Migicovsky unveiled its new smartwatches, he also wrote a lengthy blog post explaining all of Apple’s restrictions that make third-party smartwatches worse than the Apple Watch.
“There is no way for us to support all the functionality that Apple Watch has access to. It’s impossible for a 3rd party smartwatch to send text messages, or perform actions on notifications (like dismissing, muting, replying) and many, many other things,” Migicovsky wrote.
Migicovsky describes his new company as “a labour of love” for people looking for a fun, hackable smartwatch. And he disagrees with Apple’s attacks on the DMA. “They’re clearly using their market power to lock consumers into their walled ecosystem. This causes there to be less competition, which increases prices and reduces innovation,” Migicovsky wrote.
And things have become harder for third-party smartwatch companies in recent years. Since iOS 13, notification content previews are hidden on your iPhone lockscreen by default until you unlock your iPhone. As a result, smartwatch makers can’t get the content of your notifications unless users manually enable full content previews on the lockscreen.
Instead of asking users to weaken the security level on iOS, Migicovsky would like to be able to use the same APIs that the Apple Watch is currently using. “If you live in Europe, thank you for voting for representatives who passed the DMA. We will be petitioning Apple under DMA Article 6 to request interoperability with Apple Watch APIs,” he wrote.
While Migicovsky is this week’s vocal opponent of Apple’s platform restrictions, many startup founders are quietly nodding in agreement. According to them, Apple should allocate a small portion of its development resources to create a level playing field, allowing anyone to innovate and compete fairly with the tech company that currently has the greatest market capitalization in the world.
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