Apple’s iPad hit by EU digital dominance crackdown

Apple’s iPad has been added to the list of Big Tech products and services hit by the EU’s tough new rules aimed at stopping potential anti-competitive abuses before they happen.

The move means Apple has six months to ensure that its tablet ecosystem complies with a number of preventive measures under the EU’s flagship digital markets act.

The company’s iOS mobile operating system, its App Store and Safari browser are already targeted by the law — but Apple is challenging its designation for certain services in the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg, with a hearing scheduled for later this year. Is going to happen.

The EU’s decision to include the iPad within the scope of the DMA will ensure that fairness and competition are preserved, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. He said that despite not meeting all of the thresholds set, an investigation showed that “iPadOS is an important gateway that many companies rely on to reach their customers.”

The decision is a loss for Cupertino, California-based Apple, which will have to adapt its operating system to meet new obligations and restrictions, including allowing iPad users to download apps beyond Apple’s boundaries. Also includes being able to uninstall apps. Preloaded on devices.

An Apple spokesperson said the company is focused on delivery to European consumers, “while minimizing the new privacy and data security risks posed by DMA.”

The EU’s DMA strikes at the heart of the business models of six of the world’s most powerful technology companies, deemed digital “gatekeepers.” In addition to Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platform, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon.com and TikTok owner ByteDance have all been targeted for new obligations aimed at preventing them from abusing their dominance.

Under the law – which came into full force on March 7 – it is illegal for named companies to prioritize their own services over those of rivals. They are also barred from combining personal data across their various services, prohibited from using the data they collect to compete with third-party merchants, and prohibited from allowing users to download apps from rival platforms. Will have to be allowed.

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