Last April a new European law caused a lot of ink to flow. THEDMAfor “Digital Market Act” is the European Commission’s new tool to force digital giants to respect the rules in force in the old continent. Apple was notably targeted by name by this law.
According to information from the Bloomberg news agency, the EU is about to use the DMA for the first time, and it is Apple that will pay the price. The apple brand had already been accused last June of violating the terms of this new law, all with full knowledge of the facts. In response, Apple made changes to its operating system in the middle of the summer. It was obviously not enough.
A question of timing
Europe believes Apple has not implemented the necessary changes to allow developers to direct users to cheaper prices outside the App Store. Bloomberg ensures that the fine was validated internally andall that remains is to officially announce it.
The European Commission could do so in the coming weeks. This would be one of the last public actions ofMargrethe Vestagerat the head of this body, he who will leave his post before the end of the year. His successor could also lobby to be at the origin of this announcement, and thus strengthen his legitimacy with historic action upon his arrival at the head of the Commission.
Still a lot of unknowns
As you have understood, we do not yet know when Apple will receive this fine or how many billions of dollars are involved. But one thing is certain, Europe has decided to attack the apple brand with DMA, one of its most powerful weapons. From Cupertino, no official reaction has been given yet, but we can expect Apple's lawyers to appeal the decision as soon as it is announced.
Theoretically, the DMA allows for a fine of up to 10% of a company's annual turnover to be imposed. As for Apple,the reprimand could therefore be 8 billion euros.For comparison, the Social Security deficit is 8.8 billion euros today in France.
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By : Keleops AG
