Why would a company give up selling to the EU when they could just take a sensible, conservative approach to complying with the law and avoid all possibility of a fine?
I’ve seen some complaints that the EU hasn’t given tech companies enough time to get compliant with the #DMA. It’s worth remembering that the DMA was passed in November of 2022 (and was working its way through the legislative process since 2020). If tech companies are only starting to find out in 2024, it’s because they’ve been fucking around since 2022.
If I were Apple I would be near the point where I’d scratch the CTF, open side loading to the point that alternative app stores aren’t even needed, preinstall all alternative browsers and pull Apple Music from the EU.
Then I’d raise iPhone prices 5% in the EU markets as a cost for software customizations for #DMA.
We're simplifying this week's show. Apple is in regulator crosshairs, and a landmark case has been filed by the DOJ. Facebook and Google are facing scrutiny in the EU. Everyone on social media has suddenly become a legal scholar.
And I got to play with a new chip for laptops that might seriously disrupt how we use Windows.
#SGGQA 341: DOJ Sues Apple, EU Investigating Apple for DMA Non-Compliance, Qualcomm's X Elite Chip is a SCREAMER
Apple is in regulator crosshairs, and a landmark case has been filed by the DOJ. Facebook and Google are facing scrutiny in the EU. Everyone on social media has suddenly become a legal scholar!
And I got to play with a new chip for laptops that might seriously disrupt how we use Windows.
#SGGQA 341: DOJ Sues Apple, EU Investigating Apple for DMA Non-Compliance, Qualcomm's X Elite Chip is a SCREAMER
Without getting into the right or wrongs in the DMA and Apple/Google/Meta/etc’s implementations, there is one thing that strikes me as absolutely wrong on EU’s part.
Law gets discussed, written, and passed, with basically no interaction with the affected companies, and apparently no way for them to submit a compliance plan to be checked and approved/rejected. Co.s present their compliance once the law is in effect, and only after that EU launches an
Today, we have opened five non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act.
It concerns:
🔹Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play
🔹Alphabet’s self-preferencing in Google Search
🔹Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store
🔹Apple's choice screen for Safari
🔹Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’
Having attended most of last week's #DMA compliance workshops in person, I was already convinced that the EU Commission would have no choice but to investigate if it doesn't want to lose all credibility for the #DigitalMarketsAct; the gatekeeper's circumvention attempts are just too blatant to ignore.
I wasn't sure they would act so swiftly though, so thank you @EU_Commission ! 👏
Considerevole aumento del numero di installazioni di #Brave su iOS a partire dal 6 marzo, ovvero da quando #Apple è stata costretta ad introdurre per l'Europa la schermata di scelta del #browser per rispettare il Digital Markets Act #DMA
E se preferite il motore di ricerca https://searxng.devol.it/ più #privacy assicurata!😉
When the Europeans say #DMA responses by big tech companies should be in the spirit as well as the letter of the law, they don’t mean they’re going to enforce things arbitrarily. They mean that if the letter of the law says “allow users to download apps directly from developer websites” and the response is “large companies who pay a fee to Apple can allow users to download apps directly after approval from Apple”, the EC will not accept that. Legalistic minimisations of the DMA won’t fly.
📰 "We wtorek wiceprezes ds. cyfrowych i szefowa ds. konkurencji Margrethe Vestager podała w wątpliwość opłatę za prywatność Meta, mówiąc Reutersowi: "Myślę, że istnieje wiele różnych sposobów monetyzacji świadczonych usług. Jednym z nich są bardzo ukierunkowane reklamy, które opierają się na wykorzystywanych danych. Innym sposobem wyświetlania reklam jest uczynienie ich kontekstowymi. Myślę więc, że ważne jest, aby kontynuować rozmowę z Metą i ostatecznie ocenimy, jaki jest następny krok, aby byli zgodni z ustawą DMA [Digital Markets Act]".
The European Commission’s VP, Margrethe Vestager, casts doubt on the legality of the CTF (Core Technology Fee) and cautions Apple against denigrating the security of AppStore alternatives as a way to deny consumers the benefits of the #DMA
The #DigitalMarketsAct mandates Meta to "enable end users to freely choose to opt-in to [combining or cross-using personal data] by offering a less personalised but equivalent alternative".
When I pointed out to Meta that by offering users to either #consent to #SurveillanceAds or pay € 275 per year for #Instagram & #Facebook isn't "equivalent alternative" they said, Meta has to do that because of #GDPR 😤 Really??
While Alphabet seems to be better in terms of the new #browser & #search choice screens, they have a strange view regarding their new obligation to allow un-installing pre-installed apps like #PlayStore or #Gmail:
Alphabet's lobbyists argue un-install and remove are two different things and as the #DigitalMarketsAct's Art 6(3) only mandates un-install but not removal, the current "deactivation" feature in Android would be enough. 🤔
OK I'm back after the lunch break, and the #Google / #Alphabet compliance workshop is heating up nicely:
They're talking Google Shopping and #selfpreferencing and competitors are accusing Google openly to be like a "dictator" and "blatantly non-compliant" with the #DMA. 👊
Wow, #Google's engineering lead claims that they had 3,000 employees working for 2 years full-time to implement the #DMA's article 5(2) prohibition of cross-sharing or combining people's personal data across services without #consent.
tl;dr wrap-up from my 3rd day of #DMA compliance workshops with #gatekeepers: while #Google / #Alphabet seems to fare slightly better than #Apple in terms of compliance plans (from a digital rights perspective that is, I'm sure price comparison and hotel industries would disagree), there is still some way to go before the proposed changes can be called satisfactory. 🙊
And just to be clear: Google is still a terrible #privacy violator, the DMA will hardly change that.