Apple's iPad has been added to a list of Big Tech products and services hit by tough new European Union rules aimed at stopping potential competition abuses before they take hold.
The move means Apple has six months to ensure its tablet ecosystem complies with a series 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 targets of the law, but Apple has challenged its designation for certain services at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg, and hearings will place at the end of this year.
The EU's decision to draw the iPad into 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 while it didn't meet all the thresholds to be targeted, research showed that “iPadOS is an important gateway that many businesses 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 comply with a series of new obligations and prohibitions, including allowing iPad users to download apps outside the bounds of the iPad Apple, as well as being able to uninstall applications. preloaded on devices.
An Apple spokesperson said the company remains focused on delivering to European consumers, “while mitigating the new privacy and data security risks posed by DMA.”
The EU DMA strikes at the heart of the business models of six of the world's most powerful technology companies, considered digital “gatekeepers”. Apart from Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google, Amazon.com and TikTok owner ByteDance have been targeted by new obligations aimed at preventing them from abusing their dominance.
Under the law, which came into force on March 7, it is illegal for designated companies to favor their own services over those of rivals. They are also prohibited from combining personal data across their various services, are prohibited from using data they collect from third-party merchants to compete with them, and must allow users to download apps from rival platforms.
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