ARTICLE 19 and partner civil society organisations contributed to a joint submission responding to the European Commission’s consultation on measures to ensure Apple’s compliance with the interoperability obligation under Article 6(7) of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Article 6(7) of the DMA requires Apple to provide alternative service and hardware providers with access to features in iOS and iPadOS on equal terms. Apple has opted for a request-based process for developers seeking interoperability with its DMA-designated operating systems. The measures under consultation, which are expected to form part of a specification decision directed at Apple, are preliminarily considered by the Commission to be necessary and proportionate to ensure a fair and effective process.
Interoperability crucial to the DMA
ARTICLE 19 considers interoperability obligations a cornerstone of the DMA, essential for opening digital markets and fostering choice and innovation. Other jurisdictions with similar ex-ante frameworks, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, also recognise the importance of ensuring seamless interoperability between digital services provided by gatekeepers and those offered by third parties.
However, these third parties must not face significant limitations or difficulties in accessing interoperability features. Rather than adopting a proactive approach, such as ‘interoperability by design,’ the reactive, request-driven method originally implemented by Apple fell far short of being fair and effective. The measures identified by the Commission and under consultation aim to address these shortcomings. In our joint submission, while lamenting the lack of a more proactive approach by Apple, ARTICLE 19 and partners propose additional measures to better ensure the request-based process guarantees accessibility, transparency, and fairness for developers. Furthermore, we stress the importance of Apple providing robust support to developers to minimise the complexities and costs associated with the interoperability request process.
As repeatedly stated in the past, we believe that to achieve the DMA’s ambitious goals the Commission must effectively enforce each provision therein in a holistic and coordinated manner and avoid leaving space for gatekeepers to gain additional time through fragmented and insufficient compliance.
We are grateful for the substantive efforts put into this submission by our co-signatories. We look forward to continued cooperation with fellow civil society organisations and independent developers and researchers to ensure the DMA fulfils its aims of fairer and more contestable markets.