The purpose of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is to ensure competition and fair play in the digital services market. The act regulates the relations of the large digital platforms that appear in the role of “guardians”, with the aim of reducing the impacts they have in the digital economy and enabling market access for both business and end consumers.
Starting from September 2023 until today, on several occasions the European Commission marked the services of Apple’s key platforms, highlighting the App Store, iOS, iPadOS and Safari. This actually means that Apple has an obligation to fully harmonize its actions in the area of interoperability according to the Act.
On September 19, 2024, the European Commission launched two special procedures that will assist Apple in ensuring the interoperability that is foreseen for its platforms in accordance with the Digital Markets Act. These two procedures actually represent the officialization of the dialogue between the European Commission and Apple and aim to ensure compliance with the Act and regulations in the area of protection of the competition.
The first special procedure refers to iOS connectivity features and functionalities, before they are used for and by connected devices. The second specialized procedure focuses on the process that Apple has put in place to address interoperability issues from developers and third parties for iOS and iPadOS, that is, to check whether this process is transparent, timely and fair.
According to the European Commission, this procedure should be completed in the next period of 6 (six) months and preliminary reports will be published on the progress. This does not mean that the European Commission has waived the right to impose appropriate penalties and sanctions if it determines further non-compliance with the provisions of the Act.