Apple fires back at EU for unlawful changes to iPhone, and App Store

Apple has delivered a heated message to the General Court in Luxembourg, stating that Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect in 2023, unlawfully compels Apple to make changes to its iPhone, App Store, and iMessage.

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For those who don't know, the DMA is the antithesis of Apple's end-to-end control over its products, as it compels tech companies to make core services interoperable with competitors. Apple argues that the changes it would have to make to its services and products are incompatible with the protections of security, privacy, and even property rights under current EU law, with Apple telling the EU's second-highest court the DMA imposes "hugely onerous and intrusive burdens" on companies such as Apple, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and others.

The aim of the DMA is to prevent big tech companies, such as Apple, from leveraging their dominance in one market to create power within another. An example of this would be the restrictions Apple places on iPhones when it comes to being compatible with other products Apple is trying to compete with, such as earbuds or smartwatches.

• Read more: Apple may be forced to allow third-party app marketplaces in Japan as well.

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The DMA would require Apple to interoperate competing devices with iPhone hardware, which Apple argues may undermine user security safeguards, violate intellectual property protections, and threaten privacy controls, which Apple has steadfastly integrated into iOS.

Furthermore, Apple moves to separate the App Store from falling under the DMA, which EU regulators previously found to be a service of Apple's that exudes gatekeeper power, resulting in a €500 million fine for violating anti-steering provisions that relate to purchases outside iOS. Essentially, Apple got fined because it steered users to make purchases through Apple's system, where Apple makes a percentage of the sale, rather than letting users carry out payments as they see fit.

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Apple argues the App Store should not fall within the DMA, as it shouldn't be recognized as a singular service. Apple's firing back at the EU is the first time the company has requested EU judges to hinder the reach of the EMA before the law comes into full effect across the entire Apple ecosystem, which, if passed, would mean Apple is lawfully required to open up iOS to competitors, along with iPhone restrictions, App Store policies, and possibly even iMessage.

Apple has an uphill battle to fight, as Commission lawyer Paul-John Loewenthal argues that Apple's ultimate control over the iPhone platform has enabled the company to generate "supernormal profits" from markets, while simultaneously handicapping any competition that attempts to compete in the same market as the Cupertino company.