EU Reportedly Planning to Charge Apple for Violating Digital Markets Act

[AppliedMicro]

So XCode is going to be $10,000 a seat in the EU. Neat.

No problem: compilation and app signing can be offshored to India or other lower-costs locales.

If Apple can structure its taxes to offshore thrm or assemble devices locally from imported parts (to save on import duties/taxes), so can third-party developers.

 

[jumpcutking]

Yes, USB-C and standardized wireless charging those are helpful. The AppStore stuff is tricky, because you can't buy a PS5 game and play it on XBOX or PC as far as I'm aware. Same with buy records, you can't buy something on Amazon and it show in your Apple Music...and vice versa, so you'd have to buy it on both platforms. I think some sort of universal app purchase thing would be interesting...basically if you buy in Apple's App Store, you can use that to get it on another platform if needed. because you can't even transfer your purchases from one account to another on Apple and most others. so its no very thorough at this point. perhaps they take the concept of this open appstore concept to have a more universal thing and each platform Apple App Store (iOS, Mac, etc) have the ability to approve or deny it from their platform based on their parameters and a user can purchase it from whatever App Store they want and are able to access it on whatever device without having to open up all these security and backdoors. idk, I dont have a streamlined thought on it but the basics is I dont want anyplace to be able to just place apps on my devices. I would like Mac to further adopt this and enforce vendors to port to Mac App Store

Patent pending.

 

[macfacts]

If apple pulls out of the EU then their taxes are going to go up from paying the low rates in Ireland to higher rates in USA, apple isn't going to pull out of the EU.

 

[JPack]

That’s true, I haven’t seen many EU tech companies. Although I think I use a few apps from EU app makers. Do you think this legislation will open up competition in EU? Or at least open the EU market?

It should give apps and alt. app stores a fighting chance. Right now, there is no breathing room for devs who want to make money. Digital transactions are becoming more prevalent. The EU can imagine a future where Apple wants a cut of every single transaction, regardless of whether it's Apple Pay or even a transfer in a banking app.

 

[henkie]

Apple should just pay them out of pity. Europe has absolutely zero technical or business leadership in the world due their overly regulated markets. It’s rare to see successful startups there.

ASML is joining the conversation….Guess where the machines come from that are used to build all these fancy M chips…

 

[Plutonius]

It's time to remind them who's in charge in a jurisdiction (not them)

Yep, the unelected bureaucrats in the EU are in charge .

 

[Stromos]

Just make the CTF across the board. Your app is popular? Here's the bill.

Apple developer account? First year free. Every year after that 5% of global revenue or no account.

No more games you can provide your app however you want. You will pay to develop. Done.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Apple developer account? First year free. Every year after that 5% of global revenue or no account.

Certainly beats paying 15% or 30% commission on revenue 👍🏻😃

 

[Plutonius]

If apple pulls out of the EU then their taxes are going to go up from paying the low rates in Ireland to higher rates in USA, apple isn't going to pull out of the EU.

I was under the impression that Apple no longer gets the low Ireland taxation rate due to previous EU litigation on Apple's taxes ?

 

[MilaM]

Just make the CTF across the board. Your app is popular? Here's the bill.

Apple developer account? First year free. Every year after that 5% of global revenue or no account.

No more games you can provide your app however you want. You will pay to develop. Done.

Possible. But the App Store would empty very quickly. I don't think Apple wants that either. The only apps remaining would be high income games, and scam apps.

 

[Aoligei]

Just make the CTF across the board. Your app is popular? Here's the bill.

What bill? If a developer choice to setup its own store, in what universe Apple can send “bills” to developer?

Apple developer account? First year free. Every year after that 5% of global revenue or no account.

Sure. How does Apple know the actual global revenue? And this is also against the DMA.

 

[one more]

Good news, considering how Apple “implemented” the DMA provisions so far.

And for those of you suggesting Apple should just leave the EU, consider this, from iPhone’s new best friend:

 

[opiapr]

The EU is only targeting foreign mostly American companies to try and balance their budgets.

 

[Stromos]

What bill? If a developer choice to setup its own store, in what universe Apple can send “bills” to developer?



Sure. How does Apple know the actual global revenue? And this is also against the DMA.

So you can't change the price of a developer account? How exactly is VMWare holding the world randsom right now?

 

[bcortens]

Possible. But the App Store would empty very quickly. I don't think Apple wants that either. The only apps remaining would be high income games, and scam apps.

If this were to happen (devs leaving en-mass if the rules were fair) it would be a good demonstration of how unfair the current rules really are. Apple needs devs in the store, it is to Apples benefit to provide as much developer support as possible. The fact that they have a monopoly on iOS device access is the only reason they can get away with their rent seeking. Apple knows they can’t rent seek from powerful companies so they carve out exceptions for people like Netflix, walmart, etc…

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

The EU Commission designed these laws following extensive, multi-year lobbying by Microsoft and other competitors of Apple.

Let's imagine that this is fully the "WHY?" reason Apple is in the crosshairs. Microsoft is sometimes ahead of Apple as richest company in the world. "Motivating" the EU to go after Apple resulting in a windfall of free money for EU seems highly likely for them to then ask "who else could we go after and get free money?" Well, who else is among the richest in the world? "Hello Microsoft, this if your friends in the EU calling..."

Conspiracies are always fun but this one would almost certainly result in a hollow victory for Microsoft when the cross hairs shift to perhaps the very next opportunity.

"Think different"

 

[bluecoast]

It sounds terrible, but what would happen if Apple left the EU market? A solid billion is a lot to be fined for non-compliance. I respect the spirit of EU regulations to open up closed systems, to promote standards, and to protect user privacy. I wonder if the EU is too ambitious; their regulations are sometimes challenging to comply with. I’m referring to GDPR… this I’m unsure of. I hear many battles with the EU and anti-competitive practices, but at some point, switching to leave a market will become a viable option.

It's their 2nd biggest market apart from the americas (mostly North America).

And a very stable one too, in a world that is pretty unstable.

Tim Cook wouldn't have a job if they walked away from it.

 

[macfacts]

_are they going to "govern" what car i drive_, how long i drive, what i should eat, what i should drink ?
are they going to govern by giving me a weekly menu ?

yes they are,

New Biden administration pollution rules would require almost 10 times as many EV sales in 2032 as today

The proposed regulation, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, would set tailpipe emissions limits that are the strictest ever imposed.

fortune.com

 

[MacAddict1978]

It sounds terrible, but what would happen if Apple left the EU market? A solid billion is a lot to be fined for non-compliance. I respect the spirit of EU regulations to open up closed systems, to promote standards, and to protect user privacy. I wonder if the EU is too ambitious; their regulations are sometimes challenging to comply with. I’m referring to GDPR… this I’m unsure of. I hear many battles with the EU and anti-competitive practices, but at some point, switching to leave a market will become a viable option.

Or they could just become compliant - I mean their rev in the EU isn't chump change. Most people will never use outside app stores or payment systems anyway.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Is it clear? Because it certainly seems a mess. Also, if the spirit of a law is one thing, but they don’t codify the ‘spirit’ of the law, then there isn’t legal requirements to follow the ‘spirit’ of the law.

It was crystal clear. When Apple announced what htey were doing, everyone was face palming as it was an obvious defiance of the order. There was a thread here about it and endless predictions this would happen. A blind man could see this coming.

 

[one more]

Apple should pull out and tell the EU to stuff it.

Not gonna happen, as the US, the UK, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, India and Japan are currently working on similar laws.

As I said before, Apple can make it all go away by making iOS and iPadOS as open as macOS.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

This has already been addressed. The issue isn't that they are trying to charge for their IP but the fact that they are using charging for their IP as a pretence to help maintain their App Store monopoly.

Imagine being barely out of high school, sitting your garage, broke, no friends except for one other nerd. And the two of you decide, hey, we have skills in engineering and marketing, why don't we start building and selling our own computers? So you do. And through blood, sweat, hard work and sacrifice, you end up becoming the biggest company--stock wise--in computing history, three decades later.

Why do you deserve to have things taken from you at that point? Why should you be punished for being the best at what you do to the point where people don't want to buy anything else? If customers are happy (and sales of Apple products show they are, by in large, quite happy), then what's the reasoning? What's the inherent sin?

In my opinion, you should not be punished for succeeding.

Ever.

 

[I7guy]

Not gonna happen, as the US, the UK, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, India and Japan are currently working on similar laws.

As I said before, Apple can make it all go away by making iOS and iPadOS as open as macOS.

Doesn’t seem they are going to do that.

 

[I7guy]

Imagine being barely out of high school, sitting your garage, broke, no friends except for one other nerd. And the two of you decide, hey, we have skills in engineering and marketing, why don't we start building and selling our own computers? So you do. And through blood, sweat, hard work and sacrifice, you end up becoming the biggest company--stock wise--in computing history, three decades later.

Why do you deserve to have things taken from you at that point? Why should you be punished for being the best at what you do to the point where people don't want to buy anything else? If customers are happy (and sales of Apple products show they are, by in large, quite happy), then what's the reasoning? What's the inherent sin?

In my opinion, you should not be punished for succeeding.

Ever.

100%. I’ve said the same thing. And apple operates within the laws of the locales they do business in.

 

[2540497]

Stop saying there 400-500 million customers, that’s how many live in the EU.

Reality is Android is more dominant in the EU and Apple have around 100 million customers, many on old devices, about a quarter of the market.