Apple is taking the European Commission to court over a landmark order that would force it to open up its tightly controlled ecosystem to rivals, a move the tech firm says will undermine privacy.
The Commission decided in March after a six-month dialogue with Apple under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that the iPhone-maker should guarantee interoperability, which would allow third parties to develop and connect other products to its platform. For example, that would include connecting iPhones to non-Apple connected devices, such as headphones and smartwatches.
However, Apple is now appealing the decision in front of the EU’s General Court and has argued that the Commission’s demand will stymie competition and weaken its users’ privacy. An Apple spokesperson said that the EU executive’s demands are “unreasonable, costly and stifles innovation”.
The company has repeatedly labelled the third parties – such as Meta and Samsung – that would benefit from interoperability as “data-hungry companies” who have requested “our [Apple’s] users for the most sensitive data”.
Since December 2024, the Commission has been pushing Apple to improve interoperability, but the US tech major has insisted that doing so would violate its high standards of data protection.
The Commission, however, has insisted that the interoperability decision would still ensure that Apple retains full control of its iPhones and iPads, and that the measures it has requested fully comply with the EU’s privacy and security standards.
(jp)
