Apple is challenging an order from the European Union’s antitrust watchdog specifying how it needs to make its iOS operating system more compatible with rival tech companies’ products under the Digital Markets Act.
The EU executive last March told Apple what it thinks it should do to make its iOS devices more compatible with rivals’ products, from apps to headphones to virtual reality headsets, to comply with the DMA’s interoperability rules designed to curb Big Tech’s market power.
That means giving software developers and device makers access to certain parts of Apple’s operating system that are typically reserved for the company’s own products, such as allowing some notifications to show up on rival companies’ wearable technology.
Apple filed an appeal against that decision to the European Union’s General Court in Luxembourg on May 30. Appeals at the court aren’t typically made public until a few days after they are filed.
“At Apple, we design our technology to work seamlessly together, so it can deliver the unique experience our users love and expect from our products. The EU’s interoperability requirements threaten that foundation, while creating a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation,” a spokesperson for the company said on Monday, calling the rules “deeply flawed” and adding that the EU executive’s order obliges Apple to share sensitive information with rivals and poses security risks to European customers.
“Companies have already requested our users’ most sensitive data–from the content of their notifications, to a full history of every stored WiFi network on their device–giving them the ability to access personal information that even Apple doesn’t see,” they said. “We are appealing these decisions on their behalf, and in order to preserve the high-quality experience our European customers expect,” they said.
Apple criticized an access request from Meta Platforms last December just as the commission initially proposed measures it should adopt to adopt to ensure its operating systems are functional with rivals’ products.
Companies face fines of up to 10% their worldwide annual turnover if the EU decides they are flouting the rules. The commission can also order them to break up parts of their business in extreme cases.
