European Union

Despite pushback from Apple, the European Parliament in January voted overwhelmingly for new rules to establish a common charging standard for mobile device makers across the European Union. This article explores what form the EU laws might ultimately take and how they could affect Apple device users in Europe and elsewhere. What Exactly is the EU Calling For? To reduce cost, electronic...

Facebook owner Meta has been hit with a record $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) fine by European Union regulators for mishandling user information, and has been ordered to suspend the transfer of data from users in the EU to the United States. The fine was issued by Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which regulates Facebook across the EU, after it ruled that the social network's data...

Apple in iOS 17 will for the first time allow iPhone users to download apps hosted outside of its official App Store, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Otherwise known as sideloading, the change would allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which would mean developers wouldn't need to pay Apple's 15 to 30 percent fees. The European Union's Digital...

Apple is planning to allow for alternate app stores on iPhones and iPads ahead of European legislation that will require the company to support sideloading, reports Bloomberg. The change would allow customers to download apps without needing to use the App Store, which would mean developers would not need to pay Apple's 15 to 30 percent fees, but to start with, Apple is only planning to...

The European Union has set an official deadline for when all smartphones sold in its jurisdiction must have a USB-C port, including the iPhone. The EU officially approved the common charger law in October, but a specific date for when the law would come into force was unknown. Now, in a newly published directive, the EU says all smartphones must have USB-C by December 28, 2024. Other...

New EU rules came into force today that could compel Apple to let users access third-party app stores and permit app sideloading on iPhones and iPads, among other sweeping changes designed to make the digital sector fairer and more competitive. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the rules will apply to tech giants that meet its "gatekeeper" criteria and force them to open up their various...

The European Union today gave final approval to legislation that will force technology companies like Apple to switch to USB-C across a wide range of devices. Outlined in an official press release, the European Council today gave the European Parliament's common charger directive approval, finalizing the legislative procedure that will make a USB-C port mandatory across a wide range of...

Earlier today, the European Parliament voted in favor of enforcing a standard charger across all smartphones and a wide range of consumer electronic devices by the end of 2024, including new products released by Apple thereafter. The new rule will directly and most heavily impact Apple, which across a wide range of products, continues to use a decade-old port. Below, we've listed some of the ...

The European Parliament today voted overwhelmingly in favor of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of consumer electronic devices, including the iPhone and AirPods, by the end of 2024. The proposal, known as a directive, forces all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell their products in Europe to ensure that a wide range of devices feature a USB-C port. This...

Smartphone manufacturers supplying the EU will be required to provide spare parts for at least five years from the date of a device's introduction and ensure longer battery life, according to new draft proposals published by the European Commission. The Financial Times reports that the proposals would require at least 15 different component parts to be made available and that batteries...

European Union lawmakers have approved landmark legislation to heavily regulate Apple, Google, Meta, and other big tech firms. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) were proposed by the European Commission in December 2020. Now, collected in a "Digital Services Package," the legislation has been formally adopted by the European Parliament and seeks to address...

Citizens of European Union countries can keep avoiding mobile roaming fees when using their devices across borders within the bloc, after lawmakers extended the regulation to last until at least 2032. Mobile customers generally haven't had to worry about roaming charges when using their phones in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as...

Qualcomm has successfully appealed a 997 million euro ($1.05 billion) fine from EU antitrust regulators for paying Apple to use its LTE chips in iOS devices (via Reuters). The fine was imposed by regulators in 2018 after a European Commission investigation concluded that payments to Apple from 2011 to 2016 were made with the sole aim of blocking Qualcomm's LTE chipset market rivals, such as...

The European Union has reached a landmark agreement to force a wide range of consumer electronics, including the iPhone and AirPods, to feature a USB-C port for charging by fall 2024. In a press release, the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection announced that it has reached an agreement to introduce a law to make USB-C the common charging port across a...

The European Union is pressing ahead with legislation to heavily regulate companies like Apple, setting plans to force "gatekeepers" to open up access to hardware and software, and even set up an internal department to meet new rules, according to an endorsed agreement from the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee. The provisional agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) was reac...

The European Commission is set to release a draft law this week that could require tech companies like Apple and Google to identify, remove and report to law enforcement illegal images of child abuse on their platforms, claims a new report out today. According to a leak of the proposal obtained by Politico, the EC believes voluntary measures taken by some digital companies have thus far...

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). 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...

Apple will be forced to allow users to utilize third-party app stores and payment systems, as well as make iMessage interoperable with other messaging services, by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a newly published document from the European Commission. In a questions and answers document on the Digital Markets Act titled "ensuring fair and open digital markets,"...

A leaked version of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) indicates that Apple could be forced to make major changes to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, third-party browsers, and Siri. According to a leaked working document intended to reflect the "final" version of the DMA, seen by MacRumors, the EU is planning to enact changes that seek to have a significant impact on the way...

Members of the European Parliament this week voted overwhelmingly in support of legislation that will compel Apple to offer a USB-C port on all iPhones, iPads, and AirPods in Europe. The proposal, known as a directive, will force all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell devices in Europe to ensure that all new phones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld...

Apple will face additional antitrust charges in the European Union related to a music streaming probe triggered by a complaint from Spotify, Reuters reports. The charges are part of an ongoing investigation by the European Commission into accusations of anti-competitive conduct in the music streaming market from Spotify and suggest that the EU is strengthening its case against Apple amid...