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Apple’s in hot water (again) – following an investigation by the European Commission into the Cupertino tech giant’s business practices, it looks like the company is now facing more regulatory action by the EU. In particular, the investigation has ruled that Apple’s iPadOS is now a designated “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), along with the likes of iOS, Safari and the App Store before it.
The investigation was originally carried out back in 2023, in which a special commission found that Apple “presents the features of a gatekeeper in relation to iPadOS.” As per an official statement from the commission:
On the basis of the findings of the investigation, the Commission concluded that iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users, and that Apple enjoys an entrenched and durable position with respect to iPadOS. Apple has now six months to ensure full compliance with the DMA obligations as applied to iPadOS.
According to the investigation, business user numbers on iPadOS significantly surpass the threshold, while end users are nearing it and expected to grow further. This user lock-in is driven by Apple’s extensive ecosystem that discourages users from switching tablet operating systems, along with the established and commercially valuable user base for businesses, particularly for applications like gaming.
Apple isn’t the only company being looked into with regards to DMA violations – other names such as Meta and Google are also included on the EU commission’s list.
Source: Europa.eu
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