Thought Leadership
Apple is stepping up its criticism of the EU Commission’s requirements for better interaction between iPhones and iPad tablets and competitors’ devices.
The requirements jeopardized data protection for users, Apple warned during its in-house developer conference WWDC. New functions could also reach European users with delays or in diluted quality. A function that allows the iPhone to be operated via Apple’s Mac computer is still not available in the EU.
The EU Commission refers to the European digital law DMA, according to which operators of large platforms may not give themselves an advantage. On this basis, the Brussels authority demands, among other things, that technology from other providers must be placed on an equal footing with Apple’s own devices, for example in terms of notifications, file transfer and audio functions.
Data that Apple itself does not see
Apple criticizes the fact that this is intended to disclose user data to other companies, some of which the company itself does not have access to for security reasons. For example, when a text message from the iPhone is displayed on the Apple Watch computer watch, the data is protected with end-to-end encryption. This means that it is only visible in plain text on these devices. This is not guaranteed when transferred to a watch from another provider.
The company also sees a problem in the fact that it should provide other companies with information on previously visited Wi-Fi networks. This data is also hidden from Apple through encryption and provides information about where users are. At the same time, Apple confirms that it wants to introduce new functions for users all over the world.
Requests from the Facebook group
The iPhone company filed an objection to the Commission’s demands at the beginning of June. Apple had already warned against “data-hungry” companies in December – and specifically mentioned the Facebook group Meta, which had made 15 requests for in-depth access to user information. At the time, Meta replied that Apple always referred to data protection for no reason when the company was accused of anti-competitive behavior.
When presenting the interoperability requirements to Apple in March, the Commission emphasized that this should ensure a level playing field and more choice for customers.
dpa
