Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s commissioner for competition, said Thursday that Apple’s decision to not offer its artificial intelligence upgrades for iPhone and Mac in the European Union is an admission that the company knows the features are anticompetitive.
In contrast, Apple says interoperability requirements in EU law would make the AI features a risk to user privacy.
EU’s Vestager says Apple Intelligence is a ‘way of disabling competition’
The purpose of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act is to open up Big Tech — including Apple — to more competition. It’s already brought significant changes in the region, including permitting sideloading of third-party software onto iPhone outside the App Store.
But another result of the DMA is the decision to not introduce in the EU “Apple Intelligence” AI features for iPhone, Mac and iPad that the rest of the world will get later in the year.
“We are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security,” said Apple.
Vestager, Europe’s competition chief, used a speech given Thursday to describe the iPhone-maker’s decision very differently. She said in response to a question:
“Apple have said that they will not launch their new AI-enabled features in the IRS environment, and they say that they they will not do that because of the obligations that they have in Europe. And the obligation that they have in Europe it is to be open for competition — That is sort of the short version of the DMA [Digital Markets Act]. And I find that very interesting that they say ‘We will now deploy AI where we’re not obliged to enable competition’ — I think that is that is the most sort of stunning open declaration that they know 100% that this is another way of disabling competition where they have a stronghold already.”
EU vs. Apple
Vestager’s negative comment about withholding Apple Intelligence from the EU is hardly the first sign that the region’s government is dissatisfied with the way Apple is adhering to the new rules in the Digital Markets Act.
Most notably, the European Commission warned the Mac-maker that it’s not allowing third-party iPhone developers to use their applications to steer customers to their websites to. make purchases, as is required by the DMA. And the commission is investigation into whether Apple’s new Core Technology Fee complies with the legislation.
Apple’s differences with the EU are more than a war of words. Fines for breaking the DMA are potentially enormous. “In the case the Commission finds an infringement of the DMA, it can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, or up to 20% in case of repeated infringement,” warns the EC.
