European Union

Despite pushback from Apple, the European Parliament in January voted overwhelmingly for new rules to establish a common charging standard for mobile device makers across the European Union. This article explores what form the EU laws might ultimately take and how they could affect Apple device users in Europe and elsewhere. What Exactly is the EU Calling For? To reduce cost, electronic...

Google, Meta, Qualcomm, Nothing, Lenovo, Opera and several other tech companies have announced a collaborative effort to push for "open digital ecosystems" in what appears to be a pointed move against Apple (via Reuters). The group, calling itself the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems (CODE), seeks to encourage more open platforms and systems in Europe. Other members include Motorola,...

Apple's iMessage chat service may dodge EU regulatory demands for platform interoperability after all. Bloomberg reports that an investigation by the bloc's antitrust watchdog has tentatively concluded that the chat service is not popular enough with business users to warrant being subject to the new rules. The EU has been working on legislation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that would ...

Meta intends to launch Threads in the European Union next month, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The social media network debuted in most markets in July, but did not launch in the EU because Meta was unsure whether it would be able to adhere to the bloc's stringent regulations for online services. Threads can import data from Instagram, including behavioral and...

Apple today filed a legal challenge against the European Union's Digital Markets Act ahead of the impending requirement to enable app sideloading on its devices (via Reuters). The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect on November 1, 2022, requires "gatekeeper" companies to open up their services and platforms to other companies and developers. The DMA will have a significant...

iPhone users in the EU next year will be able to download apps hosted outside of Apple's official App Store to comply with European regulations, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Otherwise known as sideloading, the change coming sometime in the first half of 2024 will allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which will mean developers won't need to pay...

Apple has suffered a setback in its €13 billion ($14 billion) tax dispute with Brussels after an advisor to the EU's highest court said the company's victory in an earlier ruling should be thrown out (via Financial Times). Giovanni Pitruzzella, advocate-general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), said on Thursday that Apple's win in the EU General Court "should be set aside" because it...

Google and European telecom groups have urged EU regulators to designate iMessage a "core" service that would force Apple to make the communications platform interoperable with competing chat services, reports the Financial Times. In a letter sent to the European Commission, the EU's executive body, the signatories including Google and some of Europe's largest telecoms operators claimed that ...

Apple recently claimed that Safari is three different browsers in effort to avoid regulation in the European Union (via The Register). The claim came as part of a response to the European Union in August, just before the European Commission designated many of Apple's iOS, App Store, and Safari as gatekeeper platforms. This classification means that Apple now has to ensure that these...

EU antitrust regulators have asked Apple's users and rivals to rate the importance of Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing versus competing services, reports Reuters. According to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission sent out the questionnaires earlier this month, asking if there was anything specific to iMessage and Microsoft's Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising that ...

EU industry chief Thierry Breton today publicly called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to open the company's ecosystem of hardware and software to rivals (via Reuters). Following an in-person meeting with Cook earlier today in Brussels, Belgium, Breton told Reuters:The next job for Apple and other Big Tech, under the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is to open up its gates to competitors. Be it the...

Apple's App Store, Safari browser, and iOS operating system have today formally been designated as "gatekeepers" in the European Union, an official classification that requires adherence to strict new regulations (via Bloomberg). The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) seeks to curtail the power of major tech companies. Designated "gatekeeper" platforms will now face prohibition against favoring...

Apple argues that iMessage is not sufficiently popular to be classified as a "gatekeeper" under EU law, the Financial Times reports. The discussion comes ahead of the publication of the first list of services to be regulated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The legislation introduces new rules that apply to tech giants that meet its "gatekeeper" criteria and force them to open up their...

App subscription service Setapp today announced plans to launch an alternative app store for iOS and iPadOS in 2024. The European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect on November 1, 2022, requires "gatekeeper" companies to open up their services and platforms to other companies and developers. The DMA will have a significant impact on Apple's platforms, and it could...

Facebook owner Meta has been hit with a record $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) fine by European Union regulators for mishandling user information, and has been ordered to suspend the transfer of data from users in the EU to the United States. The fine was issued by Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which regulates Facebook across the EU, after it ruled that the social network's data...

Apple in iOS 17 will for the first time allow iPhone users to download apps hosted outside of its official App Store, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Otherwise known as sideloading, the change would allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which would mean developers wouldn't need to pay Apple's 15 to 30 percent fees. The European Union's Digital...

Apple is planning to allow for alternate app stores on iPhones and iPads ahead of European legislation that will require the company to support sideloading, reports Bloomberg. The change would allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which would mean developers would not need to pay Apple's 15 to 30 percent fees, but to start with, Apple is only planning to...

The European Union has set an official deadline for when all smartphones sold in its jurisdiction must have a USB-C port, including the iPhone. The EU officially approved the common charger law in October, but a specific date for when the law would come into force was unknown. Now, in a newly published directive, the EU says all smartphones must have USB-C by December 28, 2024. Other...

New EU rules came into force today that could compel Apple to let users access third-party app stores and permit app sideloading on iPhones and iPads, among other sweeping changes designed to make the digital sector fairer and more competitive. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the rules will apply to tech giants that meet its "gatekeeper" criteria and force them to open up their various...

The European Union today gave final approval to legislation that will force technology companies like Apple to switch to USB-C across a wide range of devices. Outlined in an official press release, the European Council today gave the European Parliament's common charger directive approval, finalizing the legislative procedure that will make a USB-C port mandatory across a wide range of...

Earlier today, the European Parliament voted in favor of enforcing a standard charger across all smartphones and a wide range of consumer electronic devices by the end of 2024, including new products released by Apple thereafter. The new rule will directly and most heavily impact Apple, which across a wide range of products, continues to use a decade-old port. Below, we've listed some of the ...