The European Commission has published draft proposals on how Apple should meet interoperability requirements arising from the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) – seeking feedback on proposed measures targeting areas such as iOS notifications , data transfer and device configuration by January 9, 2025. .
European Union regulators then have until about mid-March to adopt final decisions on what steps the bloc expects Apple to take, and within how long, to provide access to its competitors, as required by the DMA.
Apple's iOS, iPadOS, App Store and Safari web browsers are all subject to regulations that aim to spur competition by allowing third parties to connect their own services to dominant platforms. But current interoperability procedures focus on Apple's mobile operating systems, iOS and iPadOS.
Back in September The Commission announced two “specification procedures” to determine how interoperability rules should be applied to Apple's core platforms. On Thursday, he published the preliminary results and launched two consultations: one on “proposed measures for interoperability between Apple's iOS operating system and connected devices“; and a second on “proposed steps to request interoperability with Apple's iOS and iPadOS operating systems“.
Among the proposed requirements for Apple are measures to achieve “effective interoperability” with iOS notifications; running in background; automatic audio switching; data transfer features including high-bandwidth p2p Wi-Fi, Airdrop, Airplay, short-range wireless file transfer services and media streaming; features for device installation and configuration such as proximity-triggered pairing, automatic Wi-Fi connection and NFC controller.
The Commission also wants Apple to improve the request-based process it has in place to allow third parties to seek interoperability with iOS and iPadOS – which is covered in the second procedure.
Measures proposed here include actions to increase transparency around iOS and iPadOS features and functionality currently reserved for Apple (e.g. by providing information about libraries, frameworks, and daemons); support for developers interested in interoperability to increase the efficiency and transparency of the request process itself, including measures to improve communications and feedback regarding requests and any rejections, as well as structure of a conciliation process to manage disagreements; as well as measures to sustain interoperability through interoperability by design; and measures to clarify the timing of interoperability requests to be processed by Apple to ensure predictability and accountability for developers requesting access.
Contacted for comment, Apple spokesperson Tom Parker emailed a five-page report outlining the company's response to the proposals – in which Apple suggests that abuse of DMA interoperability requirements could harm user privacy, warning: “Data-hungry companies around the world could use interoperability like a weapon. »
Apple's lobbying document also attacks Metain particular – accusing the ad tech giant of making numerous and overly broad DMA access requests, as we reported earlier.
Parker also highlighted the following line in which Apple wrote: “The magical experiences people love with Apple products are made possible by the time, talent and capital the company devotes to creating products that work out of the box.” . These processes will harm innovation: Companies should be able to compete with each other to make their own products work together in new ways that benefit users without ceding their ideas to competitors. Apple is the only company obligated to share its innovations in this way with everyone, including those who don't share its commitment to user privacy.
In the report, Apple suggests that it has often provided developers with access to the same tools on iOS and iPadOS, but says it is “incredibly important” that interoperability is “done in a way that works for our users “.
“That's why, whenever we open up developer access to features, we carefully consider how to do so in a way that continues to protect users,” Apple also says, adding: “Without the right protections, Giving third parties access to certain parts of users' devices could open the door for bad actors to steal or expose their personal information.
Commission consultation on the first specification procedure Remarks that it particularly seeks technical opinions on the effectiveness of the proposed measures for interoperability between iOS and connected devices, including effectiveness in practice, completeness, feasibility and opinions on the proposed deadlines for 'Apple is implementing the measures.
Concerning the second consultation, the EU also wishes to obtain comments on the deadlines and, more broadly, whether the proposed measures achieve their objective; and, if not, how they could be improved.
“The Commission will carefully evaluate the comments provided by interested parties and by Apple. The comments received could lead to adjustments to the proposed measures and will feed into the Commission's decision on the final legally binding measures applicable to Apple,” the EU added.
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