Digital rights advocacy organizations are alleging that Apple has not fulfilled its interoperability obligations under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). They have presented their concerns in a letter addressed to competition regulators, urging them to ensure Apple’s compliance with Article 6(7) of the DMA. This request comes from four groups: the Free Software Foundation Europe, freedom of expression advocates ARTICLE 19, European Digital Rights, and Data Rights, along with three independent researchers.

Article 6(7) and Gatekeeper Obligations

Article 6(7) mandates that companies identified as gatekeepers, such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, must provide fair access to or facilitate interoperation with designated software and hardware. The aim is to foster competition. In September 2024, the European Commission initiated two proceedings against Apple concerning its interoperability obligations related to iOS connectivity features like AirDrop and developer interoperability requests.

Commission’s Current Approach Criticized

The letter criticizes the European Commission’s current approach, stating that Apple’s compliance has been inadequate and structurally incapable of achieving effective interoperability as required by the DMA. The advocacy groups recommend several measures to bring Apple into compliance. They suggest that the commission should prohibit Apple from unilaterally enforcing Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) on developers. Any such agreements should be evaluated individually, with developer input in case of disagreement.

Standardized Interoperability Request Form

The advocacy groups are also calling for a standardized interoperability request form for developers to submit to Apple. They believe this would increase transparency and reduce delays reported by developers when seeking information from Apple about APIs intended for compatibility with the iOS ecosystem.

Security Concerns and Open Standards

Another recommendation is for the commission to revisit Paragraph 20(B)(e) of the DMA, which allows Apple to hide symbols or descriptions related to its frameworks and libraries due to security concerns. The letter asserts that relying on “security by obscurity” should not be permitted and suggests that developers should be able to claim interoperability solutions implemented with Open Standards and publicly available documentation. Apple would then have to prove otherwise.

Development Community Concerns

The advocacy groups also highlight issues with Apple’s “Feedback Assistant,” designed for developers to communicate about interoperability issues. They want the commission to ensure Apple’s APIs are as effective as its own and that they are flexible, aligning with the commission’s intent. They further argue that tracking interoperability requests is challenging due to the lack of a public bug tracking system, a concern in the Apple developer community since at least 2011.

Interoperability and App Notarization

In their letter, the groups claim that Apple’s current approach to app notarization can be used as a means to block interoperability. They point to Apple’s denial of an interoperability request related to just-in-time (JIT) compilation APIs for iSH, a Linux shell for iOS, as an example of strategic blocking. The advocacy groups call on the commission to reconsider how DMA obligations intertwine, to prevent Apple from continuing such practices.

Apple’s Privacy Concerns

Apple, in response, has expressed concerns that DMA’s interoperability requirements could expose personal information to companies like Meta. Apple has cited numerous access requests from Meta that could potentially compromise user privacy. Meta’s communications director, Andy Stone, has countered these claims, suggesting that Apple’s stance on privacy is used to defend anti-competitive behavior.