Apple and Google have both urged the European Union to revisit its Digital Markets Act (DMA), which both tech giants say is failing.
Cupertino kicked off the action on Wednesday with a post that opens by stating the company’s intention to create products that consumers and developers both appreciate – but then changes gear to argue that the DMA makes life harder for Apple and its customers without benefiting the European economy.
“The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is forcing us to make some concerning changes to how we design and deliver Apple products to our users in Europe.”
Those changes include delaying the debut of products including live translation of conversations for owners of AirPods, storing users’ favorite locations and preferred routes in Apple Maps, and mirroring iPhone screens onto Macs.
Cupertino’s scribes say the company has suggested changes to those features to the European Commission, which rejected its suggestions “until we bring them to other companies’ products.”
The post also includes familiar arguments from Apple regarding erosion of security if users are allowed to acquire apps and make payments anywhere other than Cupertino’s own app store. Apple also thinks Europe’s competition requirements expose users of iThings to “much higher risk of surveillance and tracking.”
Apple also feels it’s been unfairly singled out for regulation, despite Samsung being Europe’s dominant smartphone vendor, and complains that complying with evolving interpretations of the DMA slows its ability to innovate.
Above all, Apple argues that the DMA isn’t helping to improve Europe’s economy.
Google made similar points in a Thursday post, which opens by observing that the DMA “is causing significant and unintended harm to European users and many of the small businesses it was meant to protect.”
Google’s senior director of competition Oliver Bethell points out that the DMA “requires Google Search to stop showing useful travel results that link directly to airline and hotel sites, and instead show links to intermediary websites that charge for inclusion.”
Bethell argues that this increases prices for consumers and prioritizes “the commercial interests of a small set of intermediary sites — who often shout the loudest in these debates — over the ability of most businesses to sell directly to their customers.”
Google’s competition czar also argues that the DMA means Google will bring its AI features to Europe “up to a year after they launch in the rest of the world.”
“This delay hurts European consumers and businesses who deserve access to the latest and greatest technology,” he argues, before ending his post with a call for the European Commission “to ensure that future enforcement is user-driven, fact-based, consistent and clear.”
These criticisms aren’t unexpected, as in July the European Commission commenced a review of the DMA, with a September 24 deadline for submissions.
At the time of writing, the EC appears not to have posted submissions online. The Register expects other tech giants will also have plenty to say about the DMA, and that the Trump administration will watch the situation with interest given its belief that regulating or taxing American tech companies is harmful. ®