Quick takes on EU Digital Markets Act v Big Tech and Apple

The EU has declared a range of different measures within its Digital Markets Act (DMA) it says are designed to constrain the market power of some of the big tech firms.

While the intent of those choices seems to be positive, some of the demands will almost certainly erode user experiences and security and while these rules haven’t become law yet, they will go into effect six months after approval.

How does this impact Apple?

Apple is one of the big tech firms in the EU’s sights. Companies that fail to meet the demands of the law once it is past will be fined up to 10% of total global annual turnover, rising to 20% for persistent infringement.

The various impacts of the new laws as understood so far on the company will include:

• A requirement to open up to sideloading
• A requirement to support alternative payment systems
• Limits on use of data for advertising
• Better app choices.
• A requirement to open up iMessage.

Opening up to sideloading

You’ll be able to purchase apps from app stores outside of Apple’s. Rest assured hackers and state-sponsored cybersaboteurs will abuse this to infect your devices, but Apple hasn’t won the argument so now it’s going to have to open up to sideloading apps.

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Customers will also be able to uninstall any pre-installed app. And companies defined as ‘gatekeepers’ (which in this case includes Apple) will be told to stop giving their own apps special treatment.

This is going to be terrible, you know, no matter how many lazy-minded critics point to the ability to sideload apps for Macs. Every platform will become more insecure. Given the value of the information in smartphones, I’m extremely concerned.

Supporting alternative payment systems

I don’t have a huge problem with this. So long as those systems are also supported at some level by Swift. You’ll be able to choose which system you want to use to pay for stuff. I think most people will stick to the system they know.

Limits on use of data for advertising

The EU also says combining personal data for targeted advertising will only be allowed with explicit consent to the gatekeeper. This is a good thing. I imagine everyone but Apple is upset.

App choices

As above, companies defined as ‘gatekeepers’ (which in this case includes Apple) will be told to stop giving their own apps special treatment. The rules say users must be able to freely choose their browser, virtual assistants, or search engines.

Two out of three isn’t so bad, but given the huge security differences between virtual assistants and that some work on the edge, others in the cloud, I think the EU may have just set another basket of worms adrift there. I suspect implementing this will prove far more challenging than you think. Perhaps it will just be a check box to choose the assistant,  but does that mean edge-based Siri intelligence has just been killed before it was really born?

Opening up iMessage

This demand seems difficult. It means the largest messaging services (those with over 45 million monthly end-users in the EU), including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or iMessage will have to open up and interoperate with smaller messaging platforms. The idea is that you’ll be able to share video, photos and messages across these platforms.

The problem as I see it relates to security, given that not every message provider maintains the same level of data security. My concern here is that this open market also turns people’s messages into open books, with all the security brouhaha that will follow – how will encryption work in this model?

How Apple will meet this demand I don’t know, but I imagine a trans industry group will need to establish system for message exchange. I’ve a feeling it will take time and suspect the law will be challenged, and that’s certainly to be inferred from Apple’s statement of response.

The EU also seems to expect challenges on this requirement, as it says messaging interoperability “requirements will be assessed in the future.”

What Apple said

The company released a statement to The Verge in which it said:

“We remain concerned that some provisions of the DMA 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. We believe deeply in competition and in creating thriving competitive markets around the world, and we will continue to work with stakeholders throughout Europe in the hopes of mitigating these vulnerabilities.”

What Europe said

“The agreement ushers in a new era of tech regulation worldwide. The Digital Markets Act puts an end to the ever-increasing dominance of Big Tech companies. From now on, they must show that they also allow for fair competition on the internet. The new rules will help enforce that basic principle. Europe is thus ensuring more competition, more innovation and more choice for users,” claimed the rapporteur from Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, Andreas Schwab (EPP, DE).

I’m not feeling the ‘innovation’ part.

The EU also says that after the legal text is finalised at technical level and checked by lawyer-linguists, it will need to be approved by both Parliament and Council. Once this process is completed, it will come into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal and the rules will apply six months after.

More information.

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