How the EU’s DMA is changing Big Tech: all of the news and updates

Apple just released its first developer betas of a new round of software updates, and early testers have spotted support for Priority Notifications in the iOS 18.4 preview. It’s an Apple Intelligence-powered feature that uses on-device processing to try to detect which updates are especially important and sort them into a separate section above your other notifications.

According to 9to5Mac, the Priority Notifications feature is turned off by default in this first developer beta, but you can enable it with a toggle in the notifications area of the settings menu.

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Apple will soon become the first company to incur a fine for violating the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), reports Bloomberg. Sources tell the outlet that the Commission is getting ready to levy the penalty after it found that Apple’s “anti-steering” practices harmed competition on the App Store.

This follows the EU’s €1.84 billion (around $2 billion) fine imposed on Apple in March. After investigating a complaint from Spotify, the EU Commission ruled that Apple restricted developers’ ability to point users to cheaper purchases outside the App Store in March — a practice that’s illegal under the DMA.

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The European Commission has opened new proceedings under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will see the bloc instruct Apple on how it can comply with its interoperability obligations. The two “specification proceedings” focused on iOS and iPadOS will conclude within six months.

Under DMA, Apple is required to provide third parties “free and effective interoperability” with hardware and software features controlled by iOS and iPadOS. Now the EU is going to help Apple understand what that specifically means.

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Meta has finally pulled the curtain back on what its plans for third-party chats in WhatsApp and Messenger will look like. The change, which is coming for users in the European Union, introduces new options to put Messenger and WhatsApp messages in the same inbox as third-party chats or keep them separate.

It’s building new notifications into Messenger and WhatsApp as well, which will let users know when they can link chats from newly supported apps. Meta says it has “gone above and beyond the ‘basic’ features required for interoperable messaging” and will offer rich messaging features, like reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts.

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Apple will soon let iPhone and iPad users in the European Union choose default apps for phone calls, messaging, keyboards, password managers, and more. These options will be available later this year in a new “Default Apps” section in Settings, according to an update on Thursday.

In the spring of next year, Apple says it will also let users set default navigation, translation apps, and call spam filter apps. Along with these new options, iPhone users in the EU will add the ability to delete the App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps. The only apps Apple won’t let users delete are Settings and Phone.

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Apple is splitting its App Store division in half, according to a report from Bloomberg. While one group of employees will run the App Store, the other will manage its approach to alternative marketplaces that have started opening up in the European Union.

As part of the change, App Store vice president Matt Fischer will leave the company after more than a decade in the role. “This has been on my mind for some time, and as we are also reorganizing the team to better manage new challenges and opportunities, now is the right moment to pass the baton to two outstanding leaders on my team,” Fischer writes in an email to employees seen by Bloomberg. Fischer has also posted the email on LinkedIn.

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Apple is tweaking its App Store rules in the EU after regulators charged the company with breaking the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in June. At first glance, the updated rules appear to give developers more freedom when linking to outside purchases — but a restrictive new fee structure will force developers to pay Apple a commission for sales made across any platform, not just iOS, for as long as they include outside links.

Starting this fall, all developers in the EU will be able to include links that lead to purchases outside their apps. The updated rules will let developers tell their users about offers on the web, on another app store, or otherwise “at a destination of their choice.” It allows developers to include as many links as they want and gives users an option to disable in-app scare screens.

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The Epic Games Store app for EU iPhones has passed Apple’s notarization process, putting the alternative app store a step closer to selling apps directly to iOS users outside of the App Store. AppleInsider reports that while Apple confirmed the app had passed, it has asked Epic to “fix the buttons” in a future submission to the company’s app review process.

But the approval is just “temporary,” posted Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who puts Apple’s request differently. He says the company is “demanding we change the buttons in the next version,” vowing that the company will “fight this.” The apparently conditional approval is just the latest part of the back-and-forth saga between Apple and Epic. Previously, Apple reinstated Epic Games Sweden’s European developer license after EU regulators started investigating its decision to pull it.

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The EU has formally charged Meta with violations of its Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking its second such charge in as many weeks. The European Commission writes in a preliminary ruling that the “pay or consent” advertising model that launched last year for Facebook and Instagram users runs afoul of Article 5(2) of the DMA by not giving users a third option that uses less data for ad targeting but is still free to use.

Regulators found in their investigation that Meta gives users a “binary choice” that forces them to either choose to pay a monthly subscription fee to get the ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram or consent to the ad-supported version. Where Meta runs afoul of its rules, it says, is by not letting users opt for a free version that “uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads’ based service” and by not allowing them to “exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.”

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Apple’s App Store “steering” policies violate the EU’s Digital Markets Act meant to encourage competition, said regulators in their preliminary ruling Monday. The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe, including the core technology fee it charges developers.

“Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering,” said Margrethe Vestager who heads up competition policy in Europe. “Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers.”

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Apple says upcoming features like its Apple Intelligence generative AI tools, iPhone mirroring, and SharePlay screen sharing may not be available in the European Union this year, as reported previously by Bloomberg.

Why? The Digital Markets Act (DMA), says Apple, citing the EU law that puts strict requirements on the “gatekeepers” that control massive online platforms to block anticompetitive behavior. Recently, rumors have indicated that Apple and Meta could soon face charges over DMA violations.

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