Apple is reportedly making moves to challenge the European Union's active crackdown on dominant big tech companies in line with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple recently issued an emergency patch for its devices, including Macs, iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. A zero-day exploit was discovered on iMessage that lets malicious actors harvest all data (texts, emails, calls, photos, personal information) in a device through Pegasus spyware.
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Apple to Dispute EU Regulation
Bloomberg reported that the company is still drafting its appeal. The company wants to dispute the EU's decision to put App Stores into the bloc's new digital antitrust list. Apple also aims to protect its iMessage service, citing that it should not be involved in the first place.
The company still has days to finalize its appeal as the deadline to file challenges is November 16. If Apple pursues its plans this would spark another legal dispute between the EU and a big tech company. Previously, the EU published an official list of the "gatekeepers" under the DMA. It involved Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft which in total hold 22 core platforms service.
Meanwhile, Apple is currently battling the EU over alleged unpaid taxes on Ireland. The company also faces antitrust probes on its payment technology. Aside from these, regulators are also questioning its treatment of other music streaming rivals.
Apple Wants iMessage Out of List
Since the publication of the list, Apple has been insistent that iMessage should not be part of the list. The company argued that compared to the other companies' messaging apps, iMessage holds the least popularity and it would be unfair to tag it as a gatekeeper service.
On the other hand, Google sent a letter to the commission suggesting that the messaging app should be regulated as a core service. Under the DMA, services that have a high annual EU turnover of about $8 billion in each of the last three financial years should be included. Apple admitted that the iMessage has over 10,000 business users.
Even if the appeal is on a pending status, Apple must still comply with the rules once they become effective on March 6, 2024. The listed six companies will be given six months to follow their obligations and prohibitions under the DMA. They are also required to inform the commission if there will be a merger with another company.
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