Copyright 9to5Mac
As part of an investigation into whether Apple complies with the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU has said that it suspects the company of failing to protect its customers from scams. The Cupertino company is also accused of not providing enough safety measures for children who use its devices. The iPhone maker has responded with an exceptionally strongly-worded letter, accusing the EU of hypocrisy and cynically attempting to distract attention from the failings of its own laws … Another war of words The war of words between Apple and the EU got dialed up several notches today, just a couple of weeks after the two sides squared up in court in a hearing on the legality of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In that case, Apple accused the EU of “imposing hugely onerous and intrusive burdens” on the company, while the EU said that the iPhone maker wanted to lock in users in order to achieve “supernormal profits.” The EU’s accusations against Apple The latest battle is over the DMA’s sister legislation, the DSA. This law requires tech giants to take reasonable steps to protect their users from harm. This includes guarding Apple customers from scam apps as well as ensuring that the safety and privacy of children is properly protected. The EU has written to Apple expressing concerns about two aspects of the company’s compliance with the DSA. The Commission suspects that Apple “has not put in place reasonable, proportionate and effective mitigation measures tailored to this specific systemic risk [of financial scams through App Store]” […] The Commission suspects that Apple “has not put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of safety and security of minors on their service”. Apple’s counter-accusations Apple VP of Legal Kyle Andeer has written an unusually blunt reply, accusing the EU of hypocrisy. “We find it difficult to square the premise of these [concerns] under the DSA with the Commission’s radical enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has continually undercut Apple’s ability to protect its users. […] Through the App Store and App Review, Apple has worked to keep fraud and scams, as well as apps that could be harmful to minors (like those dedicated to distributing pornography), off its platforms.” The company is essentially arguing that the requirements of one law (the DMA, requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores) prevents Apple from fully meeting the requirements of another law (the DSA, requiring Apple to properly protect iPhone users from harm). It argues that it is the DMA which puts iPhone users at risk. “The Commission has required Apple to allow developers to link out of their apps—to websites, other apps, and third-party app marketplaces—with no meaningful guardrails. This exposes users to fraud and scams on those third-party platforms that we cannot control or even monitor—even for apps distributed through the App Store.” […] “The Commission’s requirements likewise fundamentally undercut many of the trusted, industry-leading tools that we currently offer to help parents protect their children—and the Commission has in turn refused to permit Apple to institute key safeguards, inevitably raising the risks to children on Apple’s platforms despite Apple’s best efforts otherwise.” The company doesn’t stop there. It suggests the EU is trying to divert attention from the problems caused by its own laws. “We are concerned that these new inquiries are cynical attempts to distract from the core problems caused by the Commission’s misguided DMA enforcement efforts.” The lawyer goes on to say that the EU has done nothing to address abuses by developers for misleading and deceiving users. “Authorities in the United States have condemned Epic Games, Match Group, and other developers for misleading and deceiving users (specifically including children, in at least one case). The silence of the Commission has been deafening. It has turned a blind eye to these abuses, as they would expose the hypocrisy of the Commission’s approach to the digital marketplace. The loser is the user.” 9to5Mac’s Take Regular readers will know that I have criticized both sides in this battle. The EU has often gone too far in attempting to control the way that tech companies choose to conduct their business. Apple, in turn, has arrogantly refused to accept that lawmakers have the right to set boundaries to its behavior. In this particular case, it’s really hard to see how the EU’s DSA claims could stand up. Apple quite rightly notes that it has done more than other tech companies to protect users from potential harms, even if it has stopped short of admitting its imperfect record in doing so. It’s also perfectly true that the law of unintended consequences applies here: the freer the market, the greater the risks. However, I continue to think that Apple is doing long-term damage to its own reputation by continuing to fight antitrust regulators around the world in a war it is certain to eventually lose. It would be far more likely to achieve a compromise it can live with if it voluntarily offered to mitigate some of the issues that have attracted regulatory attention. Highlighted accessories
