On Monday, Apple defended itself against criticism that it had not done enough to open up its closed eco-system. This criticism arose due to the requirements of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which sets out a list of obligations and prohibitions for six companies, including Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, TikTok owner ByteDance, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. These companies were required to comply with the legislation by March 7.
Apple has recently announced a series of changes to comply with the DMA, including allowing app developers to distribute their iPhone apps directly to consumers instead of through the App Store. Additionally, Apple will now allow developers to distribute their apps to users in the European Union outside of the App Store.
During a day-long hearing organized by the European Commission, Apple told app developers, business users, and rivals that it has redesigned its systems to comply with the DMA. The company’s lawyer, Kyle Andeer, stated that their compliance efforts were guided by two objectives: ensuring compliance with the law and doing so in a way that is consistent with their values and language developed with users over a long period of time. Andeer added that Apple’s main focus is on the impact of changes on the user experience, but the company is also tracking the impact on developers.
Apple believes that it has achieved its objectives and is committed to continuing to track the impact of its changes on both users and developers. Meta will present its compliance efforts in a separate hearing on Tuesday, followed by Amazon on Wednesday, Alphabet on Thursday, ByteDance on Friday, and Microsoft next Tuesday. Failure to comply with the DMA risks investigations that could result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global annual turnover.