- The EU has given Apple six months to ensure its iPadOS complies with the Digital Markets Act.
- The European Commission has said that users are “locked in” to iPadOS and it is difficult for them to switch.
- This is part of a broader crackdown on “gatekeepers” and a market investigation into Apple.
Apple has a new headache to solve in the EU.
The European Commission on Monday put the tech giant on notice to ensure that its iPad operating system complies with the rules of the Digital Markets Act within six months.
The DMA was designed to ensure fairness and healthy competition in the digital landscape and to hold big tech’s “gatekeepers” accountable.
He believes one way to do this is to probe Apple’s iPadOS through the lens of DMA. Apple has its work cut out for it.
Some of the changes it will have to make to comply with its rules include allowing iPad users to remove pre-installed apps on the device and allowing them to download apps from other app stores.
The move comes as part of a broader crackdown on companies the EU describes as gatekeepers. This follows the commission’s decision to open a market investigation in September to check whether Apple’s iPadOS meets its DMA requirements, which took effect last month.
In September, the European Commission appointed Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft as controllers. This was determined based on several factors, including their economic position, how they act as intermediaries, and their long-standing dominant positions in their respective markets.
The EU said on Monday that its investigation into iPadOS found it had “the characteristics of a gatekeeper.” He said Apple’s pro user base is near threshold and they are “stuck” on iPadOS as the company discourages users from switching to other tablet operating systems.
Margrethe Vestager, head of competition policy at the Commission, said in a press release: “Our market research has shown that although it does not meet the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely. many businesses to reach their customers. »
One of the conditions of the DMA is that companies cannot self-prefer. This means that Apple cannot legally favor its own products and services over its competitors through its platforms. Instead, companies like Apple must let app developers “steer” consumers to offerings outside of their own App Store.
Last month, the commission fined Apple nearly $2 billion after finding that the company had blocked app developers from telling users about other, cheaper music services. Apple said it would appeal the decision.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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