Apple Inc has been warned by the EU to open up its highly guarded iPhone and iPad operating systems to rival technologies, or eventually risk significant fines under its flagship digital antitrust rules.
EU watchdogs announced under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that Apple must step into line with new laws on making operating systems fully functional with other technologies. The Brussels-based authority gave the company six months to comply, or face the threat of penalties.
While the announcement is a step shy of a formal investigation, the EU aims to compel Apple to re-engineer its services to allow rival companies to access the iPhone’s and iPad’s operating systems.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Today is the first time we use specification proceedings under the DMA to guide Apple towards effective compliance with its interoperability obligations,” EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
“Effective interoperability, for example with smartphones and their operating systems, plays an important role in this,” she said.
Cupertino, California-based Apple said it has created ways for developers to request additional interoperability with iPhone and iPad operating systems, while protecting users’ security. Undermining protections built into its systems would put European consumers at risk, the company added.
Apple shares rose 1.6 percent to US$224.25 in premarket trading. The EU announcement confirms an earlier report by Bloomberg.
One of the aims of the DMA is to ensure that other developers can gain access to key Apple features, such as its Siri voice commands and its payments chip.
The EU might later decide to launch a formal probe if Apple does not step into line with the DMA, which could eventually lead to hefty fines of up to 10 percent of global annual sales. It is already facing a parallel investigation into its App Store rules for developers, which could also lead to fines.
Earlier this month, Apple announced the latest version of its flagship device, the iPhone 16, betting it can entice consumers with modest hardware upgrades and artificial intelligence technology that is still on the horizon.
However, in June, the US giant said that certain features — including Apple Intelligence, iPhone mirroring and SharePlay screen sharing — would be held back from the EU, due to the DMA’s requirements on operating systems to work with third-party apps.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the