A letter written by Spotify, Epic Games, and others to the EC, alleges that Apple has “flouted” the DMA

Image credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

epic Games, proton, 37 signals Other developers have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the way Apple has chosen to adapt its rules to meet the requirements of a new EU regulation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), calling it “extortion” and “bad faith” compliance, among other things. Things. Now these companies have formalized their complaints In a letter addressed to the European Commission They collectively argue that Apple has flouted the new law and urge the European Commission to take “swift, timely and decisive action against Apple” in order to protect developers.

Apple's new DMA rules have been widely criticized by developers and tech companies, including Meta, Mozilla, Microsoft. Instead of offering a new, more level playing field where developers could easily compete with Apple's App Store, Apple found a way to legally comply with the details of the regulation, but not its intent. Notably, it introduced a basic technology fee for those developers who adopt its DMA rules, which require apps distributed outside the App Store to continue to pay Apple €0.50 for every first annual install over the 1 million threshold. This was bad news for potential competitors who wanted to create their own app stores or distribute their apps outside Apple's walls to avoid paying commissions.

In the new letter, 34 companies and associations in a variety of sectors asked the European Commission to take action.

“Apple’s new terms not only ignore the spirit and letter of the law, but if left unchanged, they make a mockery of the DMA and the significant efforts of the European Commission and EU institutions to make digital markets competitive.”

The letter goes on to point out where companies believe Apple is not DMA compliant, noting that Apple's system of requiring developers to opt-in to DMA terms adds unnecessary complexity and confusion, since both are not compliant, he says. In addition, due to the new fee structure and underlying technology fees, it is clear that few will agree to direct market access (DMA) terms, the companies said. While there has been plenty of vocal criticism of the terms, at least one developer, MacPaw, recently announced that it had gained access to the terms to distribute its Setapp software subscription in the EU.

The companies also complain that Apple's “scare screens,” designed to warn customers of the risks associated with transactions outside of Apple's App Store, will “mislead and degrade the user experience, depriving them of real choice and the benefits of direct market access.”

Finally, the letter says that for DMA to be effective, it needs to allow alternative app stores and sideloading — the former which the companies say Apple makes difficult and the latter which Apple's DMA rules don't allow.

At the same time, Apple also published a White paper today Which defines its solutions to address DMA-required changes to commissions and payouts. Here, she emphasizes the security and trust customers have with Apple and its focus on consumer privacy. In short, its position is that “users should not be physically harmed by iOS,” and that all of its efforts regarding DMA compliance are a way to minimize any potential harms users may experience.

There are hints that Apple may be feeling the pressure, as it today also reversed an earlier decision to prevent Progressive Web Apps from running normally on devices in the European Union. the The Financial Times reported recently The European Commission's ruling focusing on competition in the streaming music market would not favor Apple and would instead result in a €500 million fine from the iPhone maker. Apple responded by sharing details about Spotify's success on iOS, noting that its app has been installed more than 119 billion times across Apple devices, among other things.

In response to the companies' letter, a European Commission spokesperson told TechCrunch that the six-month deadline for gatekeepers for big tech companies, like Apple, is there for a reason.

“Once the compliance solutions are fully known next week, they must be properly analyzed by the Commission and stakeholders alike, fully and not just based on some announcements,” they noted, adding that the Commission is looking “very carefully” at how companies comply.

They also said that once it has full enforcement powers, the European Commission “will not hesitate to act.”