The EU parliament has successfully approved a major piece of antitrust legislation targeting tech companies – the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The lengthy bill has a number of implications, but there are three in particular that spell trouble for Apple.
Firstly, the Act is bound to introduce some disturbance in Apple’s famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) ecosystem. Apple users worldwide have long faced the struggle of sending a text message only to be faced with a green speech bubble.
Cross OS support for iMessage, one of the most established perks when it comes to using Apple products, has long been a much-requested feature. The DMA might just address that by forcing Apple to implement some form of message interoperability.
Secondly, the DMA will push Apple to closely incorporate third-party payments methods in iOS apps. Developers should in theory be allowed to choose freely which platform best suits their needs and use it accordingly.
Thirdly, and perhaps most interestingly, the DMA could result in the App Store losing its monopoly over the choice of users when it comes to downloading apps on their Apple devices. The DMA might well force Apple to tolerate competing app providers to operate side by side with its precious App Store.
All in all, the EU might turn out to be the biggest hurdle in Apple’s way of preserving the integrity of its business model. After already settling the issue surrounding the USB-C standard (and, by extension, threatening Apple’s proprietary Lighting port standard), the EU has now set its sights on the software aspect of Apple’s ecosystem.
Even if this results in some pain in Apple’s backside, consumers are bound to rejoice in someone finally challenging some of the American tech giant’s controversial practices. After all, Apple should not be allowed to get away with everything just because it is the biggest tech company in the world. On the contrary – with great power, comes great… legislation