Apple has challenged European Union (EU) tech rules designating its five App Stores as a single core platform service subject to onerous obligations, saying that EU regulators have misinterpreted and misapplied the new legislation that took effect last May, reports Reuters.
The five stores, per the tech giant, are ones for Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TV set-top boxes.The company also disputed the characterization of its operating system iOS as an important gateway for business users to reach end users and the interoperability obligation that goes with that label, the article adds.
This is Apple’s latest push-back against the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Among other things, the DMA will force the company to allow users to utilize third-party app stores and payment systems. It will also force the company to make its Message interoperable with other messaging apps — including WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
If Apple and other companies don’t comply, the European Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover or 20% in the event of repeated infringements and periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of the company’s total worldwide daily turnover.
Not surprisingly, Apple strongly opposes the DMA. The tech giant told ABC News on March 25, 2023, that “it was concerned that parts of the Digital Markets Act “will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users while others will prohibit us from charging for intellectual property in which we invest a great deal.”
The EU is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its policies aim “to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.”
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
