Epic Games, Spotify, Proton, 37 signals and other developers had already expressed their displeasure at how Apple chose to adapt its rules to meet the requirements of the EU’s new regulation, the Digital Marketing Act (DMA), calling the compliance “blackmail” among other things. and “bad faith.” things. Now these companies have formalized their complaints in a letter to the European Commission, where they collectively argue that Apple has made a mockery of the new law and urge the EC to take “swift, timely and decisive action against Apple” in order to protect developers.
Apple’s new DMA rules have been widely criticized by developers and tech companies, including Meta, Mozilla and Microsoft. Instead of introducing a new, more level playing field where developers could easily compete with Apple’s App Store, Apple found a way to legally comply with the regulation’s specifics, but not its intent. More specifically, it introduced a basic technology fee for those developers who adopt the DMA rules, which requires apps distributed outside the App Store to pay Apple €0.50 for each first annual install per year above the threshold of 1 million. That was bad news for would-be rivals who wanted to create their own app stores or distribute their apps outside of Apple’s walls to avoid paying royalties.
In the new letter, 34 companies and associations in various sectors are asking the EC to take action.
“Apple’s new terms not only ignore both the spirit and the letter of the law, but if left unchanged, make a mockery of the DMA and the important efforts of the European Commission and EU institutions to make digital markets competitive,” it says.
The letter goes on to point out where the companies believe Apple is not DMA compliant, noting that Apple’s system of requiring developers to opt-in to DMA terms adds unnecessary complexity and confusion, as both are non-compliant. says. Moreover, because of the new fee structure and the basic technology fee, it is clear that few will agree to the DMA terms, the companies said. Although there has been heavy criticism of the terms, at least one developer, MacPaw, recently announced that it had access to the terms to distribute the Setapp software subscription in the EU.
The companies also complain that Apple’s “scare screens,” designed to warn customers about the risks associated with transactions outside of Apple’s App Store, “will mislead and degrade the user experience, depriving them of real choice and the benefits of DMA’.
Finally, the letter argues that for DMA to be effective, it must allow for alternative app stores and sideloading — the first of which the companies say Apple is making difficult, and the second of which Apple’s DMA rules don’t even allow.
Apple, meanwhile, also released a white paper today outlining its solutions to address the changes required by the DMA in procurement and payments. Here, he highlights the security and trust customers have in Apple and its emphasis on consumer privacy. In short, its position is that “Users should not be exposed to physical harm through iOS” and that all of its efforts to comply with the DMA are means to reduce the potential harm to which users could be exposed. users.
There are signs that Apple may be feeling the pressure, however, as it also today reversed an earlier decision to block progressive web apps from running normally on devices in the EU. The FT recently reported that the EC’s decision focusing on competition in the music streaming market will not go in Apple’s favor and will probably attract a €500 million fine from the iPhone maker. Apple responded to this by sharing details about Spotify’s success on iOS, noting that its app had been installed more than 119 billion times on Apple devices, among others.
In response to the companies’ letter, an EC spokesperson told TechCrunch that the six-month deadline for Big Tech gatekeepers like Apple was there for a reason.
“Once the compliance solutions become fully known next week, they need to be properly analyzed by both the Commission and stakeholders, in their entirety and not just based on a few announcements,” they noted, adding that the Commission is considering “very carefully ». in how companies comply.
Once it has full enforcement powers, the EC “will not hesitate to act”, they also said.
