Adrian Mühlroth

June 25, 2024, 12:53 pm | Read time: 3 minutes

The European Commission announced on Monday that Apple’s App Store regulations violate the DMA. The authority believes that app developers cannot sufficiently direct users to external offers and content. Additionally, the commission is initiating a new procedure against Apple, as its requirements for third-party app stores may also be incompatible with the DMA.

Commission has provisionally found a violation of the DMA

“Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow redirection to alternative applications,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President, in a press release from the European Commission. The issue is the so-called “steering,” which should allow app developers to refer users to external offers for free. This way, customers can learn about potentially cheaper purchasing options that do not go through Apple’s payment system.

We have reason to believe that the App Store regulations [sic] do not allow app developers to freely communicate with their own users, contrary to the provisions of the Digital Markets Act. 

Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the internal market

So far, Apple only allows link-outs—links in apps that direct to an external website. However, according to current App Store guidelines, app developers are not allowed to point out cheaper offers and external content or otherwise communicate with their customers. Additionally, Apple charges a fee for any purchase made within seven days via a link-out.

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Apple now has the opportunity to exercise its right to defense and respond in writing to the commission’s findings. If the commission’s preliminary view is confirmed, a decision for violating the law would follow by March 25, 2025, at the latest.

More than 35 billion euros in fines possible

Additionally, the authority is initiating another procedure against Apple for a possible violation of the DMA. Vestager: “We have also initiated proceedings against Apple for its so-called core technology fee and various regulations for the approval of third-party app stores and the transfer of files to other devices.” Since iOS is designated as a gatekeeper, the company must enable the use of alternative app stores. Although this requirement was implemented with the update to iOS 17.4, the commission is concerned about the so-called “Core Technology Fee,” which providers of alternative app stores must pay to Apple.

The commission also wants to examine whether other requirements, such as mandatory participation in Apple’s Developer Program and additional steps for installing alternative app stores, comply with the DMA.

If the commission’s concerns are confirmed, Apple faces a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual revenue. Based on current 2023 figures, this amounts to 35.7 billion euros. For repeated violations of the DMA, the penalty increases to 20 percent of revenue.

In March 2024, Apple already had to pay a fine of 1.8 billion euros. At that time, the commission also urged the company to remove the “anti-steering” rules from the App Store guidelines. The procedure dated back to before the DMA and resulted in the highest fine to date for anti-competitive behavior.