Apple earlierPublic appealThe EU is reconsidering and even calling for its abolitionDigital Markets Act (Digital Markets Act, DMA), arguing that the relevant regulations have damaged the European user experience and increased security risks. However, Thomas Regnier, spokesman for digital affairs of the European Commissiondirect response, emphasizing that the EU "has no intention" to repeal the bill, and reiterated that the Digital Markets Act is key to balancing the digital market and limiting the monopoly of large technology companies.
Since its official passage in 2022, the Digital Markets Directive has become the EU's regulation for regulating large platform companies' influence on fair competition in the market on a large scale. Its goal is to prevent technology giants from creating monopolies and to create a fairer competitive environment for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.
Since the law came into effect, Apple has been the subject of numerous EU investigations into issues such as its App Store rules, cross-device interoperability, and browser options. Earlier this year, the EU accused Apple of unfair competition and fined it $5.7 million, a decision Apple subsequently appealed.
The EU has opened a public consultation on the Digital Markets Act, providing opinions and setting a deadline of September 24 for comments.Submission DeadlineIn addition to submitting formal documents, Apple also strongly criticized the actual impact of the Digital Markets Act through an official statement.
In a statement, Apple stated that the implementation of the Digital Markets Directive has significantly deteriorated the user experience in Europe, increased the risk of fraud, enabled more malicious apps to enter the market, and weakened the security of user data. Apple called on regulators to review the bill and truly understand its actual impact on European citizens.
However, the EU's attitude is clear. Thomas Regnier even pointed out that Apple has been questioning every detail of the Digital Markets Act from beginning to end, but the EU will not back down because of this and will continue to promote this bill to ensure that the digital market is no longer controlled by a few large technology giants.
The dispute over the Digital Markets Act is clearly poised to become a transatlantic political issue. US President Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with the EU's fines against US tech companies, and the Wall Street Journal has even suggested that the EU is using these hefty fines as leverage in trade negotiations.
Overall, the implementation of the Digital Markets Directive is not only a significant experiment in EU digital policy but also impacts international trade and industrial development. For Apple, maintaining ecosystem integrity while complying with regulations and balancing user safety and user experience will be its greatest challenge moving forward. For the EU, finding the right balance between protecting consumers and encouraging innovation will be crucial to the success of future digital governance.
