Apple disagrees with Europe’s request that it “open the gate” to allow device users to use additional messaging services and application stores from outside.
In early November, international media reported that Apple admitted that accepting iPhones to install applications from third parties (in addition to the App Store ) was inevitable, at least in European countries. This is the company’s response when Tao The Digital Market Law (DMA) of the European Union (EU) takes effect from May 2023.
However, recent moves show that Apple intends to influence the EU regarding the App Store issue and the iMessage messaging feature in the DMA. Reuters said that Apple has just officially filed a lawsuit to challenge the decisions of the European Commission (EC) specified in the DMA. This information originally appeared on a post from the account of the Court of Justice of the European Union on platform X (former Twitter).
Details of the lawsuit have not been disclosed. Last week, Bloomberg revealed that Apple will debate putting the App Store on the review list. In other words, Apple wants to appeal the EC’s decision forcing it to let users install applications from external software stores onto iPhone, iPad
In a similar move, two technology giants Meta and TikTok also filed an appeal against the European Commission’s decision regarding their services. Meta expressed disagreement with Europe by naming Messenger and Marketplace services under the influence of the DMA but did not mention Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram – other services it is providing.
Meanwhile, TikTok believes that the EC’s designation risks consolidating the power of dominant technology companies. The young video-sharing platform, which has only been operating in Europe for about five years, sees itself as “the most likely challenger to veteran enterprise platforms”.
According to the DMA, the EC has the right to designate any digital platform as a “gatekeeper” if it plays a core role as a gate between businesses and users in accessing core services. The law identifies 22 “gatekeeper” platforms, operated by 6 major technology companies including Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Meta, and TikTok (ByteDance).
The purpose of the DMA is to help simplify the ability for users to move services between competing providers, including by platforms having to cross-link their messaging services with each other, creating conditions for customers to decide for themselves which software will be pre-installed on their devices.
