EU Plans to Regulate Apple Delayed to Spring 2023 Amid Preparations to Enforce New Rules

The European Union's wide-reaching new regulations to target Apple and other big tech companies will come into effect in early 2023, according to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager (via TechCrunch).

European Commisssion
The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) could force Apple to make major changes to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, third-party browsers, and Siri in Europe. For example, it could be forced to allow users to install third-party app stores and sideload apps, give developers the ability to closely interoperate with Apple's own services and promote their offers outside the ‌App Store‌ and use third-party payment systems, and access data gathered by Apple.

One of the more recent additions to the DMA is the requirement to make messaging, voice-calling, and video-calling services interoperable. The interoperability rules theoretically mean that Meta apps like WhatsApp or Messenger could request to interoperate with Apple's iMessage framework, and Apple would be forced to comply.

In a speech at the International Competition Network conference in Berlin, Vestager said that the DMA "will enter into force next spring and we are getting ready for enforcement as soon as the first notifications come in." The DMA was originally supposed to come into effect in October 2022, suggesting that there has been a slight delay in preparing for the new legislation. Vestager also mentioned that the first enforcements could follow soon after the regulation is in place, and discussed the EU's ongoing preparations:

This next chapter is exciting. It means a lot of concrete preparations. It's about setting up new structures within the Commission, pooling resources... based on relevant experience. It's about hiring staff. It's about preparing the IT systems. It's about drafting further legal texts on procedures or notification forms. Our teams are currently busy with all these preparations and we're aiming to come forward with the new structures very soon.

EU lawmakers provisionally approved the DMA in March. The European Parliament and the European Council must give final approval to the legislation before it can come into force. Big tech companies that meet the criteria to be designated a "gatekeeper" must declare their status to the European Commission within three months after the regulation comes into effect, and there is an additional two month period for the EU to confirm a gatekeeper's designation, meaning that it may still be some time before companies face enforcement measures.

Apple is almost certain to be classified as a "gatekeeper," due to the size of its annual turnover in the EU, its ownership and operation of platforms with a large number of active users, and its "entrenched and durable position" due to how long it has met these criteria, and will therefore be subject to the rules set out in the DMA.

Beyond the European Union, Apple's ecosystem is increasingly coming under intense scrutiny by governments around the world, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and more, with a clear appetite from global regulators to explore requirements around app sideloading and interoperability. Vestager suggested that a significant level of cooperation is already occurring as part of preparations for the DMA, and urged national competition authorities around the world to closely cooperate:

For that next chapter, close cooperation with competition authorities, both inside and outside the EU will be crucial. This is irrespective of whether they apply traditional enforcement tools or have developed their own specific regulatory instruments, like the German digital regulation. Close cooperation will be necessary because we will not be short of work and we will not be short of novel services or practices to look at. And the efforts needed at a global scale are enormous. So we will need to work together more than ever.

Many of you will be watching the roll out of the DMA with great interest. This will be a mutual learning experience. The EU has worked hard to find the right balance, and I think we have come up with something that is tough but also very fair. It goes without saying that the more we, as an international competition community, are able to harmonize our approach, the less opportunity there will be for global tech giants to exploit enforcement gaps between our jurisdictions.

The DMA says that gatekeepers who ignore the rules will face fines of up to 10 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover, or 20 percent in the event of repeated infringements, as well as periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover. Where gatekeepers perpetrate "systematic infringements," the European Commission will be able to impose additional sanctions, such as obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it, including units, assets, intellectual property rights, or brands, or banning a gatekeeper from acquiring any company that provides services in the digital sector.

So far, Apple has heavily resisted attempts by governments to enforce changes to its operating systems and services. For example, Apple simply chose to pay a $5.5 million fine every week for ten weeks in the Netherlands instead of obey orders from the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to allow third-party payment systems in Dutch dating apps. Earlier this week, the ACM announced that Apple's rules surrounding Dutch dating apps remain insufficient.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 16 New Features

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:33 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models.Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iPhone 17 Air Thumb 2 Blue Electric Boogaloo

iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked

Friday July 18, 2025 12:03 pm PDT by
The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life. A previous rumor pegged the iPhone...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Friday July 18, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
Apple is expected to hold its annual iPhone announcement event during the week of September 8, 2025, with September 9 or 10 emerging as the most likely dates. Like the iPhone 16 series, this year's lineup is expected to include four models – but with a twist. The ‌Plus device is being replaced with an all-new ultra-thin model, while the iPhone 17 Pro and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max are set to...

Top Rated Comments

jlc1978 Avatar
42 months ago

Darn, I was looking forward to my EU version of an iPhone and Mac. That's especially remarkable, since I am in the USA.

No way the EU is going to force Apple to allow downloading of apps from the internet and third-party app stores on iOS. It would make it impossible to ban apps that don't censor speech.
These two comments, while probably sarcastic, brings up some good points on sideloading. If Apple is forced to allow sideloading, enforcing laws regulating speech become much more difficult. With the Apple store, Apple acted as the gatekeeper for compliance since installing apps outside of it involved jumping through hoops.

With sideloading, the EU could no longer expect Apple to act as their gatekeeper; but will have to go directly to the developer, which in some cases may simply be beyond the EU's control. A developer outside of the EU has no reason to comply if they don't want to; and I suspect some of the more fringe ones will actually take pride in being "silenced" and use it to pump up their importance.

Their is a broader issue beyond the EU - countries such as China will probably not want sideloading to be official since they also no longer have a compliant Apple to control what their citizens can download. Given China's market is as large as the EU's you could see different iPhones for different markets; and the ability to shutdown, or enable, sideloading in software based on geolocation.


Shows that they're trying to take their time and get it right rather than try to rush it through.
I have complete faith in our EU overlords' ability to mess this up and then claim it wasn't their fault.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vipergts2207 Avatar
42 months ago
Shows that they're trying to take their time and get it right rather than try to rush it through.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
philrock Avatar
42 months ago
No one wins here except Apple competitors. Consumers get a possibly more capable but less stable and less secure device. This law is watering down all the things most people appreciate about their iPhones. Hopefully, Apple makes a separate device for the EU so the rest of us don't have to suffer.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
threesixty360 Avatar
42 months ago
funny that the only company that will lose out in all this is Apple.
Its like they designed a whole set of laws to target 1 company lol
And are pretending its going to cut everyone to size... like who?
Companies with propriety systems like Oracle and Microsoft get to do whatever...
Companies with ridiculous monopolies in advertising like google, pretty much untouched etc.

Every angle that Apple use to differentiate themselves from their competitors is basically attacked.

Its a shakedown. Nothing more, nothing less.

I suppose you can bend over and take it or lawyer up.
Didn't Apple defeat Vesteger over the Irish tax thing? Seems very personal!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
byke Avatar
42 months ago
Another reason why the EU is no longer fit for purpose.
We saw that with vaccine rollout, we have seen that with the slow response regarding Ukraine. And this idea that EU technocrats have a better understanding of freedoms and technology, than the actual industry is laughable.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cb3 Avatar
42 months ago
The EU loves to regulate/ban things. Where would we be without the Nanny State? SOME regulation is NEEDED. However, bodies like this don't seem to know when to stop.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)