Apple CEO Tim Cook’s tour of Europe today took him to Brussels, where a more conventional work program awaited him than the one he has deployed these days in Madrid and Amsterdam: discussions with the European Commission on the deployment of the new Digital Markets Law of the European Union, a regulation towards which the Californian company does not hide its misgivings.
The meeting with Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Internal Market, however, also had a friendly and unexpected moment when the French liberal showed Cook his particular ‘cable museum’ to emphasize his main political message: the need for Apple assumes the consequences of the new European legislation, as it has just done by incorporating the universal USB-C type charger to its latest phone model, the iPhone 15, before other manufacturers. It has been “a wink”, explain community sources, a polite way to remind the CEO of Apple of “the strength of the European internal market” (450 million consumers, compared to 330 in the United States) and that there is no point in “resisting” the laws and regulations that come out of Brussels and, They often define global standards.
“Only one, we are making cable messes a thing of the past,” Commissioner Breton tweeted along with a photo with the American businessman and a small video in which he is seen showing him his particular ‘museum of the cables’ (that’s how they refer to it on their equipment). It is not a building full of technological fossils or a room dedicated to storing outdated artifacts, but simply some shelves in his office on which the French liberal displays various personal objects and devices related to his work, such as an MP3 player. European manufacturing that has been presented as a ‘precursor’ of the iPod, chips, satellite parts or a bunch of phone charger cables.
From January 1, 2025, in effect, all mobile phones sold in the EU must use a universal model with a USB-C port (mid-2026 for laptops). Apple’s resistance to manufacturers’ original recommendation to use a single charger was one of the factors that, after 10 years, led the European Commission to propose a regulation that would leave no room for the industry to resist. This time, the Cupertino (California) company has chosen to be among the first in the class and “set an example” to the sector by incorporating it ahead of time into its latest model, as Breton has recognized and praised in his meeting with Cook, according to with community sources.
That is precisely what Brussels wants Apple to do now with the entry into force of the Digital Markets Law, better known by its acronym in English, DMA, to which the second message of Breton’s tweet alludes: “The following, open the doors to competition. Companies have until March 2024 to comply with the new legislation. “Whether it’s e-wallets, browsers or app stores, consumers using an Apple iPhone should be able to benefit from competitive services from different providers,” Breton said. “European legislation encourages innovation without putting security or privacy at risk,” adds the head of the Internal Market, who thus refers to the two aspects cited as possible “risks” by the Californian company.
Apple is one of six companies that, under this legislation, the European Commission considers “gatekeepers of access” to basic internet services and will be subject to stricter antitrust rules. It is bad news for companies with dominant positions such as the California company, which has filed allegations and demands that its messaging system, iMessage, be exempt from the obligation to open up to competition, alleging that it does not have enough users in Europe, where most use WhatsApp (owned by Meta).
As ‘guardian of access’, Apple will also be theoretically obliged to open its platform to third parties so that consumers can purchase apps in stores alternative to the official one (AppStore) or delete those that appear installed by default. The visit to the Breton display case with the universal charger is intended to remind Cook that sometimes it is better to collaborate. Companies that do not comply with their obligations with the DMA risk fines of up to 10% of their turnover. Breton and Cook agreed to “step up” the work of their respective teams to advance law enforcement.
