On Monday, 18 March 2024, Apple Inc. (AAPL) stated that it meets the competitor accessibility requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This European Union (EU) legislation is a move by the bloc to regulate the digital economy.
Apple responds to non-compliance criticism regarding the EU’s Digital Markets Act
According to the tech giant, it did enough to open access to other apps through the functionalities on the various Apple devices. However, there has been criticism that independent apps on Apple gadgets can only be obtained via the Apple Store, and that Apple does not inform customers that they can buy the same for cheaper directly from these provider websites.
The DMA lists duties and restrictions for market dominators such as Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), Apple, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. These so-called gatekeepers had until 7 March 2024 to make the necessary DMA compliance adjustments. Apple’s recent changes included the availability of apps outside its Apple Store in the EU to meet the competitive fairness standards of the DMA.
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Reuters reported that at a recent European Commission hearing, Apple told interested parties that it had restructured its systems to be DMA compliant.
The company’s lawyer, Kyle Andeer, said:
We were guided first and foremost by ensuring that we’ve complied with the law. And then second, that we did it in a way that was consistent with our values and consistent with the language that we’ve developed with our users over a very long period of time. And we think we’ve accomplished that.
He added that the company prioritises the needs of its customers and will be tracking how these changes impact its user base. Apple ended Monday, 18 March trading in the green at $173.72 per share.
