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The European Commission claims iPadOS is an ‘important gateway’ for business users and that Apple tries to ‘disincentivise’ end users from switching to other tablet operating systems.
The European Commission has has listed Apple’s iPad operating system – iPadOS – as a gatekeeper under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The Commission said an investigation into iPadOS found that it constitutes an “important gateway” for business users to reach end users and that Apple enjoys an “entrenched and durable position” in this area.
The DMA aims to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour among Big Tech companies and came into effect last year. The Act aims to force larger companies to change their policies to level the playing field for smaller entities – or face massive fines if they fail to comply.
Companies and services that meet certain thresholds are listed as ‘gatekeepers’ and have to enact certain standards to comply with the DMA, such as allowing interoperability with third parties and allowing consumers to link up to businesses outside of their platforms.
The European Commission claims end users are “locked-in” to iPadOS and that Apple leverages its large ecosystem to “disincentivise” end users from switching to other operating systems for tablets.
Apple now has six months from today (29 April) to ensure iPadOS is in full compliance with DMA rules.
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager described the DMA as a dynamic tool that can “tackle the realities of digital markets”.
“Our market investigation showed that despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers,” Vestager said.
“Today’s decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved also on this platform, in addition to the 22 other services we designated last September.”
Apple said it will continue to constructively engage with the European Commission to comply with EU rules, RTÉ reports.
Meanwhile, Apple and other tech giants are facing multiple EU investigations for alleged non-compliance with the DMA. The European Commission confirmed last month that it is looking into Apple, Meta and Google parent company Alphabet. Apple and Alphabet face two investigations each, while Meta faces one over its controversial ‘pay or consent’ model.
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