Breton Says Apple Needs to Be More Open

EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton called Apple CEO Tim Cook to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act and open up its software and hardware to rival players. Breton made the comments to Reuters following a meeting with Cook, stating the iPhone maker and other Big Tech companies need to open up their gates to competitors under the newly adopted DMA legislation,

He argued consumers using Apple’s devices should be able to benefit from competitive services delivered by a range of providers. Breton met with Cook in Brussels, Belgium to discuss the regulation, aimed at promoting fair competition for core online platform providers. Breton also apparently dismissed Apple’s claims pointing to privacy and security concerns as reasons behind its closed hardware and software approach, saying the EU fosters innovation, without compromising on security and privacy. On his social account X, Breton said that the EU is a major market for US companies and an opportunity to innovate and diversify their supply chains.

Earlier this month, EC identified Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, ByteDance, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms as “market gatekeepers” and demanded the companies submit a detailed compliance report on how they oblige to the DMA by March 2024. DMA includes rules for the six companies designed to stop preventing users from deleting pre-installed software or apps on their devices and tracking users to promote targeted ads without consent.