European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday that Apple’s decision not to offer artificial intelligence upgrades for iPhones and Macs in the EU is an admission that the company knows the features are anti-competitive.
In contrast, Apple argues that interoperability requirements in EU law mean AI features put user privacy at risk.
EU’s Vestager says Apple intelligence is an “anti-competitive tool”
The European Union’s Digital Market Act aims to create a more competitive playing field for big tech companies, including Apple, and has already brought big changes to the region, such as allowing third-party software to be sideloaded onto iPhones outside of the App Store.
But another consequence of the DMA is the decision not to introduce in the EU “Apple Intelligence,” an AI feature for iPhones, Macs and iPads that is due to be rolled out in other parts of the world later this year.
“We are concerned that the DMA’s interoperability requirements may force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that put users’ privacy and data security at risk,” Apple said.
European Competition Commission President Vestager gave a very different account of the iPhone maker’s decision in a speech on Thursday. In response to a question, she said:
“Apple has announced that they will not be releasing new AI-enabled features in the IRS environment. They say this is because of their European obligations, which are to remain open to competition. It’s like a shortened version of the DMA. [Digital Markets Act]”And I think it’s really interesting that they’re saying, ‘We’re going to introduce AI where there’s no obligation to enable competition.’ I think that’s the most astonishing public declaration that they know 100% that this is just another way to disable competition where they’re already based.”
EU vs. Apple
Vestager’s negative comments about concealing Apple Intelligence from the EU are not the first sign that EU governments are unhappy with the way Apple is complying with the new rules of the Digital Markets Act.
Most notably, the European Commission has warned that the Mac maker is not allowing third-party iPhone developers to use their apps to drive customers to its websites to make purchases, as required by the DMA, and the Commission is also investigating whether Apple’s new Core Technologies Committee complies with the law.
The disagreement between Apple and the EU is not just a war of words: the fines for violating the DMA can be huge: “If the Commission finds a violation of the DMA, it can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, and in the case of repeated violations, fines of up to 20%,” the EC warned.
