Apple has responded to a European Union consultation on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), stating that the antitrust law is responsible for the delayed release of new software features in EU member states due to significant privacy and security challenges.
The European Union is conducting a formal consultation process to evaluate the impact of its Digital Markets Act. This legislation designates certain large technology companies as “gatekeepers,” a term applied to firms deemed powerful enough to leverage their market dominance to hinder competition. Apple was named a gatekeeper, partly on the basis that it maintained a monopoly over the distribution and sale of iPhone applications. As a result of this designation, the DMA mandated that Apple must permit users to buy and sell iPhone apps through channels outside of its proprietary App Store. The company has complied with this requirement, which has led to the establishment of several alternative app stores for the iPhone within the EU.
Beyond app distribution, the DMA contains specific provisions regarding hardware and software interoperability. The act stipulates that if Apple introduces new iPhone-powered features that integrate with its own hardware, such as AirPods, it must also make these same connected features available to third-party hardware manufacturers. It is this requirement that Apple asserts creates substantial privacy challenges. The company has identified this mandate as the principal reason for its decision to postpone the launch of certain new software functionalities within the European Union, pending the development of solutions to these complex issues.
Apple cited iPhone Mirroring and the Live Translation feature for AirPods as two primary examples of functionalities withheld from the EU market. Regarding the translation feature, the company explained its design and the associated challenges. “Live Translation with AirPods uses Apple Intelligence to let Apple users communicate across languages. Bringing a sophisticated feature like this to other devices creates challenges that take time to solve. For example, we designed Live Translation so that our users’ conversations stay private — they’re processed on device and are never accessible to Apple — and our teams are doing additional engineering work to make sure they won’t be exposed to other companies or developers either.”
The company provided a similar rationale for the delay of iPhone Mirroring. This feature is designed to allow users to view and control their iPhone directly from their Mac, facilitating seamless interactions like checking notifications or transferring files between devices. “Our teams still have not found a secure way to bring this feature to non-Apple devices without putting all the data on a user’s iPhone at risk. And as a result, we have not been able to bring the feature to the EU,” Apple stated. These delays are not limited to system-level integrations; they also extend to applications.
Apple noted that other functionalities have been affected, specifically within its Maps application. “We’ve also had to delay useful features like Visited Places and Preferred Routes on Maps, which store location data on device so it’s only accessible to the user,” the company reported. The core of the problem, as described by Apple, is the conflict between the DMA’s interoperability mandate and its own on-device privacy architecture. “So far, our teams haven’t found a way to share these capabilities with other developers without exposing our users’ locations — something we are not willing to do.”
The company detailed that implementing the necessary privacy protections for its own hardware requires a significant amount of engineering work. This challenge is magnified substantially when attempting to securely extend these features to third-party hardware, over which Apple has no direct control. Apple clarified that it is not opposed to the principle of interoperability but maintains that it cannot grant immediate access to competing hardware manufacturers until it has resolved the additional security and privacy problems inherent in such an integration. Consequently, the only method available for the company to remain in compliance and avoid potential fines under the DMA is to delay the launch of these features in the EU until a secure third-party solution is engineered. Apple also stated that it anticipates further EU-specific feature delays, a situation it suggests is compounded by the fact that all of its proposals submitted to European competition regulators have been rejected to date.
Regarding hardware, Apple confirmed that it has not yet had to postpone the launch of any new hardware products within EU countries. The company also stated that it does not currently foresee this being necessary. However, Apple communicated that it cannot completely dismiss the possibility of future hardware launch delays. This uncertainty stems from the perception that the legislation is becoming progressively more stringent over time, making it difficult to accurately predict its long-term impacts on product development and release cycles.
In its response, Apple directly challenged the intended effects of the DMA. While the EU posits that its antitrust regulation is designed to foster competition and provide consumers with more choices, Apple argues that the legislation is achieving the opposite outcome. The company contends the DMA results in fewer choices for consumers, as features are either delayed or become entirely unavailable, preventing EU users from accessing the same options as those in other global markets. This, according to Apple, means their devices “fall further behind” technologically.
Furthermore, Apple claims the act leads to less differentiation among products. By compelling Apple to engineer its features and technologies to be compatible with non-Apple products, the company asserts that the DMA is making the options available to European consumers more homogenous. It offered the changes to app marketplaces as an example, stating they are “making iOS look more like Android — and that reduces choice.” The company also characterized the regulation as a source of unfair competition. It pointed out that the DMA’s rules apply selectively to Apple, even while Samsung holds the position of smartphone market leader in Europe and Chinese manufacturers are rapidly increasing their market share. Apple stated that it “led the way in building a unique, innovative ecosystem that others have copied,” but instead of rewarding this, the DMA “singles Apple out while leaving our competitors free to continue as they always have.”
Based on these arguments, Apple has stated its position that the Digital Markets Act should be repealed or undergo a substantial revision.
