Apple appeals against EU mandate that it freely share its technology
As expected, Apple has formally filed an appeal against the European Union's ruling on interoperability, saying that it constitutes a massive privacy risk.
An EU flag with the App Store logo
In December 2024, Apple made public its objections to the EU's interoperability plans in a white paper, centering on what it described as the Digital Markets Act's (DMA) security and privacy implications. Now as first spotted by Axios, the company's official appeal filing against the EU's fine repeats the points, and in particular stresses how other firms are set to exploit the ruling.
In a statement to AppleInsider, an Apple spokesperson says that the company is filing its appeal on behalf of the users it believes may potentially be harmed by the ruling.
"At Apple, we design our technology to work seamlessly together, so it can deliver the unique experience our users love and expect from our products. The EU's interoperability requirements threaten that foundation, while creating a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation.These requirements will also hand data-hungry companies sensitive information, which poses massive privacy and security risks to our EU users. Companies have already requested our users' most sensitive data -- from the content of their notifications, to a full history of every stored WiFi network on their device -- giving them the ability to access personal information that even Apple doesn't see.
In the end, these deeply flawed rules that only target Apple--and no other company--will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe, leading to an inferior user experience for our European customers.
We are appealing these decisions on their behalf, and in order to preserve the high-quality experience our European customers expect."
Apple's December 2024 white paper makes these same points, but is aimed at EU users. It says that "abuse of the DMA's interoperability mandate could expose your private information."
The company also noted at the time that Facebook owner Meta had made more interoperability requests than any other firm. Those requests, says Apple, include ones that appear "to be completely unrelated" to the function of Meta software or devices.
This appeal is the latest step in an ongoing discussion Apple has been having with the EU, while also attempting to gain public support for its position. In May 2025, as it was beginning its appeal against the $570 million antitrust fine, Apple claimed that the EU repeatedly ignores its requests for feedback and consultation.
Updated: 08:15 ET with Apple's statement to AppleInsider.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
That has long been the case.
In the 'digital' world, the same ideas are applicable but new laws were needed specifically for the kind of cases explained here.
Do you remember the world pre-pdf?
Interoperability is key to the points mentioned above and for progress.
Mechanisms will have to be created and perfected but technology has the tendency to outpace legislation so these situations will persist until things get settled.
This isn't an Apple thing.
It's a EU thing! ICT carriers were forced to open up their technologies years ago and share their resources to a degree.
This isn't like the US where for as long as I can remember (and for all I know, may still be the case) your place of residence was a limiting factor to which carriers you could choose from.
I can opt for a virtual carrier which will use the infrastructure of one of the bigger players. That allows for competition to exist.
Left to its own devices, Apple does not allow for competition to exist. We know this and this is precisely why it is being forced to open up in certain areas (and not only the EU).
Of course, Apple is free to pull out of the EU. So is Google and Meta et al. Will they? Nope because, as you seem unwilling to contemplate, any pull-out would be met with very swift movements to fill any gaps.
You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML?
To say that "they [EU member countries] don’t have the ability or talent to design and manufacture anything people, including those in EU countries, want" is just ridiculous and verifiably so. So, nobody wants cars from BMW, Ferrari, or Mercedes? Nobody wants British HiFi or ARM's tech? Not even in Europe? Are you seriously suggesting that?
Boycotting everything made in the EU? So no more French cheese or Champagne? No Italian clothing or wine? No Belgian chocolates? No IKEA or Lego? No Airbus? You seem to be using the same playbook as Trump! Hilariously, given his "Made in the USA" obsession, none of the merch in his Trump shop is made in the USA - most is from his evil enemy, China. You can't make up this kind of blinkered economic foolishness.
EU has a somewhat similar problem with China like the USA. It is a decade or two process to build the necessary infrastructure supply lines, however they like the USA are looking for easy shortcuts and there are no shortcuts. The time needed is a decade or two and you can’t get there by attacking some of the best schools and states in the land on the USA side.
31 billons of public money for unneeded overpaid vaccines. Apple has every right to fight the theft.
The US has no rights to dictate Ford how its products operate.
The US has no rights to dictate Boeing how its products operate.
The US had no rights to stop Johnson & Johnson from using asbestos in baby powder.
Could it be that EU has the right?
“You personally, may well be able to get by without EU products, but what would Apple's current supply chain do without ASML? “
I fundamentally agree that the EU has every right to dictate what companies from anywhere in the world must do in order to sell products in the countries under their jurisdiction. The whole notion of "free trade" has been twisted and mangled into an unrecognizable shape by nationalistic tendencies over the past several decades anyway, and no more so than in the US. Free trade doesn't mean fair trade.
It's not fair to call out one regulatory body like the EU when those who are calling them out are guilty of the same exact behaviors. We basically have about 150 countries in the world, some whose total population is comprised of penguins, all looking out for numero uno. Of course we all want access to goods from around the globe, but we also want to dictate the terms for how we obtain them to the extent possible so our best interests and how we manage our economy are taken into account.
The US is ruled by capitalism. Sometimes it benefits us but sometimes it places us in very precarious situations that play out over time. The US lost its ability to secure very strategic capabilities, like semiconductors, ship building, certain forms of manufacturing, public transportation, etc. This happened because the capitalism playbook at that point in time determined that retaining those capabilities was not as profitable as leaning on someone else to serve those needs while the US invested in higher profit margins or greater business opportunities in other areas, like massive military and defense systems. You know, profits over principles (PoP).
A lot of the things the EU does absolutely make a lot of sense for the EU. Same with the US. I believe despite the EUs actions they too are also falling into the same trap of losing organic capabilities they once had. But one thing the EU has learned is that no matter how egregious they treat foreign producers, like Apple or Microsoft, the capitalists will always succumb, perhaps reluctantly or by putting up a futile defense, to their demands. Why? Profits over principles. If Apple, Microsoft, Google, or any other non-EU company wanted to take a principled stand to defend its intellectual property, trade secrets, or relinquishing control over the ecosystems created at great expense, they absolutely could.
Apple, Microsoft, or any US owned company can tell the EU to go pound sand and quit selling products into those markets. Would it hurt Apple and its stakeholders? Absolutely. From a capitalist perspective it would be a catastrophe for Apple, at least in the short term. It would also be a very painful outcome for the EU as they have very little up & running capability to replace Apple. They could transition to Apple substitutes, but I think there would be a healthy black market for Apple products until that hole was filled, like in a decade.
But none of this will ever happen because Apple's business is run under the capitalist playbook. They have already pushed some of their core principles into the background, at least for the next four years. They will cave to the EU's demands like they've caved to China's demands and the current US administration's demands. When your strongest principles are based on economics and profits, as they are for any for-profit company, you'll do whatever it takes to keep the money train rolling. You can't fault Apple for it, but as a country dominated by similarly driven companies with the same motivations, it may not play out well in the long term. But then again, when did we start caring about the long term anyway? Those days are long over.
2. "Interoperability" already exists and doesn't require letting Meta steal Apple users' private data. That's not going to happen, btw. Apple will pull out of the EU before letting it dictate user privacy rules to it.
3. "Apple does not allow for competition to exist" is vague mealy-mouthed idiocy. There's plenty of competition.
4. Without ASML? Make my day. Please. That's laughable. ASML isn't going to stop selling its stuff. Don't make stupid empty threats that you can't back up. I also note that you're forced to use TWO qualifiers here rather than talking directly about Apple.
5. The EU's overreach here is as shocking as its lack of cluefulness.
The EU won't be dictating these particular terms. This will not stand.
What have US and EU demanded so far?
- USB-C and removal of the charger from the package to reduce e-waste - something Apple promised to do on their own.
- The option for alternative stores but EU respects the value of the SDK. Apple can reject apps and do get paid for SDK use per install.
- Allowed apps to give people an option to pay directly but only for extras (US).
- Allowed apps to use NFC (EU) - the apps are still checked by Apple.
None of the above give technology away. The current request from Google, Meta, Spotify, and Garmin isn't giving tech away either. Those greedy companies want to profile us better towards advertisers. We don't know how EU will respond.If EU decides to give away our privacy then we do have a problem. That is however not the current situation.