The
European
Commission
is
opening
five
non-compliance
investigations
into
how
Apple,
Google,
and
Meta
are
complying
with
its
new
Digital
Markets
Act
antitrust
rules,
the
regulator
announced
today.
“We
suspect
that
the
suggested
solutions
put
forward
by
the
three
companies
do
not
fully
comply
with
the
DMA,”
the
EU’s
antitrust
chief
Margrethe
Vestager
said
in
a
statement.
“We
will
now
investigate
the
companies’
compliance
with
the
DMA,
to
ensure
open
and
contestable
digital
markets
in
Europe.”
In
particular,
the
Commission
plans
to
investigate
Google
and
Apple’s
anti-steering
rules
in
their
app
stores
and
whether
Google
is
guilty
of
self-preferencing
its
own
services
within
its
search
engine.
Apple’s
browser
choice
screen
for
iOS
is
also
being
investigated
as
well
as
Meta’s
“pay
or
consent
model”
for
ad
targeting.
In
a
press
conference,
the
Commission
said
it
plans
to
conclude
the
investigations
within
the
next
12
months.
Additionally,
the
EU
regulator
is
also
looking
into
the
fee
structure
Apple
announced
for
distributing
apps
outside
of
the
App
Store,
as
well
as
whether
Amazon
is
self-preferencing
its
own
products
on
its
store.
The
Commission
has
also
announced
that
Meta
has
been
given
an
additional
six
months
to
make
Messenger
interoperable
with
other
messaging
services.
“We
are
not
convinced
that
the
solutions
by
Alphabet,
Apple
and
Meta
respect
their
obligations
for
a
fairer
and
more
open
digital
space
for
European
citizens
and
businesses,”
EU
Commissioner
Thierry
Breton
said
in
a
statement.
“Should
our
investigation
conclude
that
there
is
lack
of
full
compliance
with
the
DMA,
gatekeepers
could
face
heavy
fines.”
Following
the
investigation,
the
Commission
will
tell
each
gatekeeper
what
must
be
done
to
address
concerns,
as
well
as
what
measures
the
regulator
is
planning
to
take.
If
found
not
to
be
in
compliance,
the
Commission
can
fine
each
company
up
to
10
percent
of
their
annual
global
revenue
under
the
DMA,
or
even
20
percent
in
cases
of
“repeated
infringement.”
Earlier
this
month,
the
six
major
tech
companies
designated
as
gatekeepers
under
the
DMA
had
to
start
complying
with
its
rules.
These
include
having
to
give
customers
the
option
of
changing
default
apps
and
uninstalling
the
gatekeeper’s
pre-installed
applications,
a
ban
on
ranking
a
gatekeeper’s
first-party
services
higher
than
rivals,
and
allowing
third-party
app
stores.
The
EU’s
antitrust
chief
Margrethe
Vestager
previously
indicated
to
Reuters
that
the
Commission
would
be
taking
a
closer
look
at
how
Apple
is
complying
with
the
regulation
over
concerns
that
it
may
“de
facto
not
make
it
in
any
way
attractive
to
use
the
benefits
of
the
DMA.”
The
announcement
follows
fierce
criticism
of
how
Apple
in
particular
is
complying
with
the
Digital
Markets
Act.
Although
the
company
is
allowing
alternative
app
stores
on
iOS
as
required
by
the
new
rules,
it’s
doing
so
with
a
new
fee
structure
that
its
critics
claim
will
dissuade
developers
from
distributing
apps
outside
of
Apple’s
App
Store.
Spotify
called
Apple’s
compliance
“a
complete
and
total
farce”
while
Epic
CEO
Tim
Sweeney
called
the
changes
“a
new
instance
of
Malicious
Compliance.”
Meta’s
“pay
or
consent
model”
has
also
been
the
subject
of
complaints
from
various
EU
watchdogs.
Last
year,
it
launched
a
new
paid
tier
for
Facebook
and
Instagram
in
the
EU
that
allows
users
to
pay
€9.99
a
month
to
use
each
service
without
ads.
The
subscription
was
designed
to
be
a
way
to
get
user
consent
to
collect
their
data
if
they
decide
not
to
pay,
but
the
Commission
is
concerned
with
the
“binary
choice”
that
Meta
is
offering.
Last
week,
Meta
said
it
had
offered
to
reduce
the
monthly
price
of
ad-free
access
to
€5.99
a
month
to
appease
regulators.
In
a
series
of
statements,
Apple,
Meta,
Google,
and
Amazon
defended
their
approaches
to
complying
with
the
DMA,
and
said
they’ll
continue
to
work
with
the
Commission
to
address
its
concerns.
“We’re
confident
our
plan
complies
with
the
DMA,
and
we’ll
continue
to
constructively
engage
with
the
European
Commission
as
they
conduct
their
investigations,”
Apple
spokesperson
Julien
Trosdorf
said
in
a
statement
to
The
Verge.
“Subscriptions
as
an
alternative
to
advertising
are
a
well-established
business
model
across
many
industries,”
Meta
spokesperson
Matt
Pollard
said.
“We
will
continue
to
engage
constructively
with
the
Commission.”
“To
comply
with
the
Digital
Markets
Act,
we
have
made
significant
changes
to
the
way
our
services
operate
in
Europe,”
Google’s
competition
director
Oliver
Bethell
said,
adding
that
the
company
has
“engaged
with
the
European
Commission,
stakeholders
and
third
parties
in
dozens
of
events
over
the
past
year
to
receive
and
respond
to
feedback.”
Bethell
said
Google
will
defend
its
approach.
“Amazon
is
compliant
with
the
Digital
Markets
Act
and
has
engaged
constructively
with
the
European
Commission
on
our
plans
since
the
designation
of
two
of
our
services,”
Amazon
spokesperson
Sam
Barratt
said
in
a
statement.
“We
continue
to
work
hard
every
day
to
meet
all
of
our
customers’
high
standards
within
Europe’s
changing
regulatory
environment.”
Update
March
25th,
9:36AM
ET: Added
responses
from
Apple,
Meta,
Google,
and
Amazon.
Original author: Jon Porter
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