EU DMA rules force Apple and Google to open platforms

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(Pocket-lint) – The European Union has agreed on a set of new measures to force Big Tech companies to play nice with others.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is designed to level the playing field for small tech companies to compete with tech giants.

It includes rules that will require Apple and Google to allow third-party payment options in apps in their respective app stores. And chat apps, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and iMessage, will need to be interoperable with each other and with their competitors.

Additionally, Google will have to offer alternatives to its own services on Android smartphones, possibly at setup time, while Apple will have to allow iPhone and iPad users to remove Safari and other specific apps and services. to the company.

There are of course security concerns, especially when it comes to chat and text apps. The BBC reports that Apple “is concerned that certain provisions of the DMA may create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users”.

Google is also concerned that the new guidelines will make it more difficult to invest in innovation: “While we support many of the DMA’s ambitions around consumer choice and interoperability, we are concerned that some of these rules could reduce the innovation and the choice offered to Europeans. ,” It said.

However, in-app payments have been a contentious issue for years, with Epic Games and Spotify both having longstanding legal or public feuds with Big Tech. This new legislation could finally put that to bed – in EU member states, anyway.

The DMA is only at the proposal stage at present, although it has been approved by European lawmakers. We are awaiting an implementation date.

Written by Rik Henderson.