Apple blasts EU for lack of features, riskier apps on overseas iPhones

Apple has published a public letter describing its point of view on the implementation of the law on digital markets (DMA) in the EU, passing the BUCK to the Commission in Brussels.

Depending on the long screed, the delivery of functions such as the iPhone Mirring, the live translation on the AirPods and the favorite roads in the cards are delayed because Apple is seen in an impracticable situation: on the one hand, the DMA obliges the manufacturer to provide the same functions for third party peripherals; On the other hand, Apple sees the integrity of risk user data, as these functions would involve transmitting user data sensitive to third -party manufacturers.

Difficulties and risks caused by the DMA

In its letter, Apple highlights many drawbacks for EU users caused by the DMA. These include increased risks for application downloads and mobile payments, as other platforms distribute false banking applications or games infected with malware. In addition, the user experience suffers because users are faced with other application stores and markets that use different rules and have distinct conceptions.

Users could thus come into contact with harmful applications, in particular porn applications such as hot tube in altstore or play applications that have been prohibited in certain regions to the implementation of DMA on the iPhone.

Apple complains that the European Commission has not responded to the objection according to which the sharing of sensitive data such as the content of the application notifications or the history of all the previously connected Wi-Fi networks present a risk for users. In fact, there are several documents on the Europa.eu platform that document the discussions between Apple and the European Commission. The Commission responds to Apple’s security objections:

However, certain aspects of privacy and security are not covered by the concept of integrity as defined in Regulation (EU) 2022/1925. In particular, the concept of integrity in the regulations (EU) 2022/1925 does not allow guards to impose their own security and confidentiality model on third parties.

In fact, nothing in regulation (EU) 2022/1925 prevents competition or differentiation in terms of security and data protection models as long as they are compatible with applicable legislation. For example, the goalkeeper should not prevent third -party applications from accessing the camera of a smartphone or tablet if he has obtained user consent – because access to the camera is necessary for many legitimate use cases, such as videoconference applications.

Since third -party services and equipment are in any case subject to applicable legislation, including data protection and cybersecurity, the decision to use it of a service should rest with the end user – not the goalkeeper who controls the operating system.

Commission implemented the decision of March 19, 2025, Point 87, page 24

Apple clearly has a much strict vision of data protection regulations than the EU.

Unique

Apple says that its engineering teams “carry out additional engineering work” to offer live translations into the EU without risk of exposing private conversations to “other companies or developers”. In the complaint, Apple claims that it is being distinguished in the DMA “while leaving our competitors free to continue as they have always done”:

DMA rules only apply to Apple, even if Samsung is the market leader in the smartphones in Europe and Chinese companies are developing rapidly.

The impact of the law on digital markets on EU users

Apple is right to note that Samsung is excluded from the DMA. However, Apple’s objection neglects the fact that there are many other manufacturers in addition to Samsung who offer Android smartphones, including alphabet, which is affected by the DMA. In fact, the EU commission has classified several companies such as digital guards, including Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet.

However, Apple’s demand can be understood that legislators should take a closer look at the effects of the DMA. But Apple’s position must also be seen critically here. The App Store is no longer the only source of access to applications on the iPhone and iPad in the EU for more than a year, and the User Apple nightmare scenario downloading malware and false applications from alternatives such as Alstore and Configuration of the Mobile has not materialized.

But the problems described here have a real impact on EU iPhone users, and if nothing else, the letter serves as a warning to other governments that could seek to adopt similar, both well -intentioned rules.