Apple steps up war of words with European regulators

“Bureaucrats in Brussels” are unfairly challenging Apple’s closed ecosystem and denying users the “magical, innovative experience” that makes the firm unique, Apple said.

“We have a serious threat to that in Europe,” executive Greg Joswiak said in advance of the recent launch of its newest products and features.

The so-called walled garden that combines Apple’s products and software ensures a safe and high quality experience for users, it says, but EU regulators counter that it unfairly shuts out rivals.

The two sides have had years of rows, culminating in a €500m (£430m; $586m) fine handed down in April by the EU, which accuses the tech giant of anti-competitive behaviour on its App Store.

As part of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in 2022 and began to apply in 2024, the EU targets several major tech companies.

In Apple’s case, the DMA requires it in part to ensure that devices, such as headphones, made by other brands will work with iPhones.

The DMA also requires that Apple allow notifications to show up on third-party smartwatches and not just the Apple Watch – and to let other platforms send and accept content to and from an Apple device via AirDrop.

“That’s a good thing for consumers, because that means that you actually have choice over which device you’re going to use, and you can get them to talk to one another, essentially,” said Sébastien Pant of BEUC, an umbrella group of dozens of consumer advocacy organisations.

“It’s important to try to tackle the kind of walled garden problem that we’ve had for years” and “try to provide consumers with more choice in the digital market,” Pant added.

But Apple is publicly pushing back as it releases its new AirPods Pro 3.

The wireless earphones will feature “Live Translation,” which allows users to hear in their preferred language on their AirPods.

The new AirPods Pro 3 and Live Translation were released last week in the US, but won’t be available to users in Europe for now, Apple said.

The company said the technology is currently only possible by having microphones on AirPods and the iPhone work together, and that opening up access to other devices would require extra engineering work in order to meet user expectations on privacy, security and integrity.

“They want to take the magic away – of having a tightly integrated experience that Apple provides – and make us like the other guys,” Joswiak said during a press briefing with reporters at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple has mostly refrained from airing its dirty laundry in public – at the request of the regulator, it said.

But it’s getting increasingly vocal as it argues that EU-style rules are bad for users and developers.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, on Friday published a decision rejecting Apple’s bid to have the body scrap most of its order requiring Apple to make its iPhone work with other devices.

Last month, the company issued a statement warning the UK’s competition watchdog against following the EU’s lead as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) moves ahead with plans aimed at opening up markets dominated by Apple and Google.

European regulators are “creating a worse experience for their citizens – our users,” Joswiak said. “They’re undermining innovation, they’re infringing our intellectual property and they’re damaging privacy and security.”

The BBC reached out to the European Commission for a response.

Apple previously delayed the rollout of its AI-focussed Apple Intelligence features in the EU.

Other companies have also withheld features in the EU because of the DMA, Pant said.

That includes Instagram and WhatsApp’s parent company Meta, which delayed rolling out its social media app Threads in the EU for several months to comply with EU regulations concerning tech firms’ gathering of user data.