A group of 34 companies and organizations have pointed out shortcomings to the EU Commission in the changes the technology group Apple is making to its services in order to comply with new EU regulations.
Apple's plan not only violates the “spirit and substance” of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), but it also “makes a mockery” of the efforts of the EU Commission and other EU institutions, she said in a letter.
Signatories to the document include game developer Epic Games and music platform Spotify. The signatories complain that Apple's changes “do not meet the requirements” of the law and prevent “the benefits of the DMA from being transferred to consumers as quickly as possible.”
Apple announced in January that it would adapt its iOS operating system, Safari browser and its App Store in the EU to follow DMA regulations, which take action against anti-competitive practices online.
The deadline is March 7
Apple and other major tech companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance have until March 7 to comply with the DMA. Otherwise, they face fines of up to ten percent of global corporate profits.
As part of the new regulation, Apple announced that it will open its App Store to competing apps for the first time and allow payments outside of its own payment system, Apple Pay. However, Apple will then charge a new “technology fee” for this, which amounts to 50 cents per download. When asked, the European Commission said that internet companies' procedures for adapting to the DMA would be reviewed once the March 7 deadline passes.
