Apple Has 'Very Serious' DMA Issues, EU to Enforce Rules 'Soon'

Apple is facing a "number" of "very serious" issues with its Digital Markets Act compliance in Europe, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in an interview with CNBC.

The European Commission opened an investigation into Apple in March to determine if Apple's EU app marketplace changes were complying with DMA regulations. The DMA requires Apple to provide developers with an option to distribute apps outside of the App Store and without ‌App Store‌'s fees. Apple implemented support for app marketplaces with iOS 17.4, but it charges an 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee for each download after the initial 1 million annual installs.

Vestager does not believe that Apple's changes meet the requirements of the DMA. "We have a number of Apple issues; I find them very serious," she said. "I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-compliant."

She went on to say that this implementation "is not what was expected of such a company" and that the DMA rules will be enforced "exactly with the same top priority as with any other business."

The European Commission plans to reveal the conclusions of its probe "hopefully soon," and if Apple is found to be violating the terms of the DMA, the European Union could levy significant fines up to five percent of its average daily worldwide revenue (upwards of $1 billion).

Last week, Financial Times said that the European Commission is planning to charge Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act. The EC believes that Apple is not complying with its obligation to allow developers to "steer" users outside of the ‌App Store‌ without fees.

Apple does still have time to make changes to iOS before charges are announced by regulators, and the EC is expected to make an announcement in the "coming weeks."