The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on Apple through its Digital Markets Act (DMA). If the EU regulatory authorities ultimately determine that Apple has violated the provisions of the DMA, they will impose a fine of up to 10% of Apple’s global sales. The EU Commission is expected to make a final decision on Apple’s DMA violation by the end of March next year.
On the 24th (local time), the EU Commission notified the preliminary investigation results that Apple did not comply with the DMA.
The EU Commission judged Apple’s non-compliance because the Apple App Store does not allow to freely inform customers of different purchasing methods.
The EU Commission pointed out that Apple’s App Store regulations do not allow free communication with customers. This is because customers cannot check price information on the Apple App Store or see benefits offered outside the App Store.
The EU Commission also explained that Apple often restricts customers from moving to external web pages. Apple charges excessively high commission fees when transactions occur outside the App Store.
Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition, criticized, “It is surprising that Apple, one of the most valuable and respected companies, does not regard complying with regulations as an honor.” She emphasized, “The DMA is focused on ensuring an open and competitive market.”
The EU Commission said, “Our decision that Apple violated the DMA is a preliminary view,” explaining, “It has not yet been definitively determined that Apple violated the DMA.” They added, “Apple will have enough time to review and respond to our preliminary investigation results.”
If Apple has violated the DMA as stated by the preliminary investigation results of the EU regulatory authorities, they can impose a fine of up to 10% of Apple’s total annual global sales. If it is determined as a habitual violation, the fine can go up to 20% of the global annual sales.
With this, Apple stated, “We are confident that our plan complies with the law.”
The EU’s DMA investigation is relatively fast as there are no separate official intermediate procedures such as submission, consultation, and evaluation of corrective measures by the target company. For EU antitrust law investigations, the investigation can be prolonged if the deadline for submitting corrective measures is extended at the request of the company or the commission’s judgment that additional consultation is necessary. On the contrary, in DMA investigations, the company cannot avoid fines if it doesn’t take corrective measures within 12 months.
Apple revealed that there is a high possibility of not releasing the iPhone equipped with their AI system Apple Intelligence in EU countries this year due to regulatory issues. This is because the EU’s DMA judged that Apple’s products and services could compromise security. Apple conveyed that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could damage the integrity of the product (ensuring that information is not altered or destroyed and remains in its original state), threatening user personal information and data security.
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