The European Commission started two proceedings to help US tech giant Apple comply with interoperability obligations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), following two rulings against the company over iOS connectivity features on devices and interoperability of its operative system.
The proceedings will last six months with the Commission monitoring and communicating with Apple preliminary findings. It is the first time that the Commission is enforcing this system under the DMA. “This process will provide clarity for developers, third parties and Apple,” said Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager in a statement commenting on the proceedings.
The Commission added Apple services to its list of core platform service between September 2023 and April 2024. Under the DMA, it will publish an annual report on implementation by those tech giants that fall under the category of gatekeepers that provide essential services for users.
The first proceeding is on iOS connectivity features and functionalities on external devices like smartwatches, headphones and virtual reality headsets with Apple’s own iOS operating system. The Commission will monitor how Apple will make interoperability between devices by third parties and Apple devices operating on iOS.
The other proceeding focuses on how Apple intends to allow interoperability requests from developers of third party apps for iOS and IPadOS. According to the Commission, Apple needs to guarantee that the request process to operate is transparent, fair and fast in order to give developers an equal footing with in-house Apple apps.
