EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager painted a grim picture for Apple under the Digital Markets Act, saying the company has “very serious” compliance issues.
Apple was already on the verge of beco💮ming the first Big Tech company to be fined under the DMA for failing to do enough to allow third-party developers to bypass its App Store rules and fees. The DMA is designed to regulate gatekeeper companies, such as those that control an entire platform and meet certa🎃in user and revenue thresholds.
In an interview with CNBC, Vestager said Apple’s non-compliance was a serious issue.
“We have a number🐟 of Apple issues; I find them very serious. I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-co🍨mpliant,” .
″[Apple] are very important because a lot of good business happens through the App Sto🐭re, happens through payment mechanisms, so of course, even though you know I can say this is not what was expected of such a company, of course we will enforce exactly with the same top prior💃ity as with any other business,” Vestager added.
The DMA forced Apple to open iOS and allow third-party app stores and side-loading apps. While Apple did comply, it introduced a whole new set of fees that many saw as a way to try to dissuade developers from choosing alternative paym🔴ent methods.
Vestager told CNBC said she hopeꦓd the probe would wrap up soon, but her comments certainly raise significant doubt that any outcome wཧill be favorable for Apple.