Tag: digital markets act

iPad Brought Under EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple Must Comply With New Rules in 6 Months

Apple’s iPad has been added to a list of Big Tech products and services hit by strict new European Union rules aimed at stopping potential competition abuses before they take hold.

The move means Apple has six months to make sure its tablet ecosystem complies with a raft of preemptive measures under the EU’s flagship Digital Markets Act.

The company’s iOS mobile operating system, its App Store and Safari browser are already targeted by the law — but Apple has challenged its designation for certain services to the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, with hearings set to take place later this year.

The EU’s decision to draw iPad under the scope of the DMA will ensure that fairness and competition are preserved, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. She said that despite not meeting all the thresholds for being earmarked, an investigation showed that “iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers.”

The decision is a loss for Cupertino, California-based Apple, which will have to adapt its operating system to meet a swathe of new obligations and prohibitions, including allowing iPad users to download apps from beyond Apple’s confines as well as being able to uninstall apps preloaded onto devices.

An Apple spokesperson said that the company remains focused on delivering for European consumers, “while mitigating the new privacy and data security risks the DMA poses.”

The EU’s DMA strikes at the heart of the business models of six of the world’s most powerful technology firms deemed to be digital “gatekeepers.” Aside from Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon.com and TikTok owner ByteDance have all been targeted for new obligations aimed at preventing them from abusing their dominance.

Under the law — which came into full effect on March 7 — it is illegal for designated firms to favor their own services over those of rivals. They are also barred from combining personal data across their different services, prohibited from using data they collect from third-party merchants to compete against them, and have to allow users to download apps from rivals platforms.

© 2024 Bloomberg LP

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Altstore PAL With Annual Subscription, Free Delta Nintendo Emulator Launched in Europe

Altstore PAL was launched in Europe on Wednesday as the first third party iPhone app store — or alternative app marketplace, as Apple calls it. Users who live in Europe and want to access apps that are not available via the official App Store, can now install Altstore PAL after updating their iPhone to iOS 17.4. However, thanks to Apple’s mandatory Core Technology Fee (CTF), customers will have to pay a small annual fee to access the first third-party app store to arrive in the region.

Developer Riley Testut shared details of the Altstore PAL app marketplace in a blog post, stating that the open source app currently offers two applications — a Nintendo emulator called Delta and Clip, a clipboard manager. The former will be free to download via Altstore PAL, while the latter will require a minimum donation of EUR 1 (roughly Rs. 90) or more, according to the developer.

The new Altstore PAL won’t have Apple’s content restrictions (you can’t download a torrent client or via Apple’s App Store on iOS) and will also allow developers to distribute apps with Patreon, by specifying a minimum pledge amount that unlocks access to an app. Testut says the platform won’t take commissions on donations received via Patreon, and developers can use the Patreon income to pay Apple’s CTF fee that kicks in after 1 million downloads.

In order to install Altstore PAL, users who live in the EU will need to update their iPhone to iOS 17.4, then pay EUR 1.50 (roughly Rs. 135) — an annual subscription that allows the project to pay Apple’s CTF, Testut says. Users who don’t want to fork out the annual fee as well as those who live outside the EU) can sideload apps using a computer (using the original Altstore app) and refreshing them every seven days.

Unlike users, developers won’t have to pay to host their apps on Altstore PAL, and there’s no commission for Patreon donations. Testut says that once Apple has notarised an app, the processed “alternative distribution packet” (ADP) must be uploaded to the developer’s server. They must then create and upload a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file that contains metadata about the app, so that users can include the same source in the Altstore PAL app to begin downloading and updating that app.  

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Crypto Mining Operations Face Crackdown in Norway With New Regulations for Data Centres



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Google, Apple and Meta to Face First Digital Markets Act Probes in the EU

Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms will be investigated for potential breaches of the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, European antitrust regulators said on Monday, potentially leading to hefty fines for the companies.

The European Union law, effective from March 7, aims to challenge the power of the tech giants by making it easier for people to move between competing online services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores. That should in turn open up space for smaller companies to compete.

Violations could result in fines of as much as 10% of the companies’ global annual turnover.

U.S. antitrust regulators are also challenging Big Tech over alleged anti-competitive practices in a crackdown that could even lead to companies being broken up.

Tech companies say they have deployed thousands of engineers to meet a Digital Markets Act requirement that six “gatekeepers” – which provide services like search engines and chat apps used by other businesses – give users and rivals more choices.

But the European Commission said on Monday it suspected that the measures taken fall short of effective compliance under the DMA, confirming a Reuters story.

Asked if the Commission was rushing the process just two weeks after the act kicked in, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said the investigations should not be a surprise.

“The law is the law. We can’t just sit around and wait,” he told a press conference.

Apple compliance

At issue is whether Apple complies with obligations to allow users to easily uninstall software applications on its iOS operating system, to change default settings on iOS or access choice screens allowing them to switch to a rival browser or search engine on iPhones.

Another concern for regulators is “steering”: whether Apple imposes limitations that hinder app developers from informing users about offers outside its App Store free of charge.

Apple said it was confident its plan complied with the DMA, adding that it had shown responsiveness to the Commission and developers throughout the process and incorporated their feedback into its changes.

Regulators say the anti-steering issue also applies to Alphabet. The investigation will examine whether it favours its vertical search engines such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels over rivals, and whether it discriminates against third-party services on Google search results.

Fees or no fees

The Commission also singled out Apple and Alphabet’s fee structures, saying they went against the DMA’s “free of charge” requirement. Both companies recently introduced new fees for some services.

Breton said Meta, which introduced a no-ads subscription service in Europe last November that has triggered criticism from rivals and users, should offer free alternative options.

A Meta spokesperson said the company was endeavouring to comply with the act’s guidance.

“Subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a well-established business model across many industries, and we designed Subscription for No Ads to address several overlapping regulatory obligations, including the DMA,” the spokesperson said.

Google said it has made significant changes to its services and would defend its approach in the coming months.

The Commission is also taking steps to investigate Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace.

Amazon is another DMA “gatekeeper”, along with Microsoft and TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance.

“Amazon is compliant with the Digital Markets Act and has engaged constructively with the European Commission on our plans since the designation of two of our services,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “We continue to work hard every day to meet all of our customers’ high standards within Europe’s changing regulatory environment.”

The EU executive, which aims to wrap up the investigations within a year, the timeframe set out under the DMA, said it has ordered the companies to retain certain documents, allowing them to access relevant information in its current and future probes.

The EU investigations came amid escalating criticism from apps developers and business users about shortcomings in the companies’ compliance efforts.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Apple Blocks Fortnite Maker Epic Games From Launching Its Own iOS Store in EU

Apple escalated its feud with Epic Games on Wednesday, blocking the Fortnite video-game maker from launching its own online marketplace on iPhones and iPads in Europe.

The two companies have been in a legal battle since 2020, when the gaming firm alleged that Apple’s practice of charging up to 30 percent commissions on in-app payments on its iPhone Operating System (iOS) devices violated US antitrust rules.

The latest challenge from Epic comes as Apple struggles with concerns about tepid demand for its iPhones in China, and its stock has tumbled 12 percent so far this year, underperforming its big tech peers in the US Its shares were largely unchanged on Wednesday.

Attempts by regulators and competitors such as Epic to pave the way for rival marketplaces on Apple’s devices are a major threat to the Silicon Valley heavyweight’s profits and control of its own ecosystem.

European lawmakers are forcing Apple to allow those third-party marketplaces with a law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that takes effect this week.

Separately, Brussels antitrust regulators on Monday fined Apple EUR 1.84 billion ($2 billion or roughly Rs. 16,547 crore) for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store, Apple’s first ever penalty for breaching EU rules.

Epic was working to take advantage of the DMA, but Apple blocked those efforts on Wednesday, citing Epic’s past breaches of contract in the long-running legal dispute.

Apple terminated a new developer account that Epic had created in Sweden. Epic had created the account in an effort to put Fortnite and other games back on iPhones in Europe by running its own game store on Apple’s devices. Apple must allow third-party stores on its devices, under the new European law.

The developer accounts are important because software creators cannot distribute apps to iPhones and iPads without one. Apple had previously terminated some of Epic’s developer accounts in 2020, after Epic purposely broke Apple’s in-app payment rules, using its violation of the rules and subsequent banishment from the App Store as the core of public relations and legal campaign against Apple.

Apple said on Wednesday the court rulings have made clear that it has “sole discretion” to terminate any Epic Games developer account in light of its “egregious” breaches of the company’s developer agreements.

“In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right” to terminate Epic Games’ account, Apple said.

Epic alleged that by terminating its account, Apple was removing one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store.

“This is a serious violation of the DMA and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices,” Epic Games said.

The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple in January proposed certain changes ahead of a March 7 deadline to comply with certain conditions of the DMA, a legislation meant to make it easier for European users to move between competing services.

The company said it would allow alternative app stores on iPhones and an opt-out from using the in-app payments system, but set a “core technology fee” of 50 euro cents per user account per year for developers who sign up for the new regime.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company’s latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Apple Modifies Proposed App Store Changes to Comply With New EU Rules After Criticism From Developers

Apple has modified some of its proposals to comply with landmark EU tech rules after criticism from app developers, including dropping a demand that those who want to create alternative app marketplaces must have a stand-by letter of credit.

The company and five other tech giants have to comply by March 7 with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which sets out a list of dos and don’ts aimed at reining in their power and creating a level playing field for rivals and more choices for users.

Apple had in January announced proposals which allow software developers to distribute their apps to users in the European Union outside of Apple’s own App Store, as well as new fees and conditions.

The iPhone maker said one change will now allow developers to sign up to the new terms announced two months ago at the developer account level.

“We’ve removed the corporate entity requirement that the Addendum must be signed by each membership that controls, is controlled by, or is under control with another membership,” Apple said on its website late Tuesday.

It also created a one-time option for developers to terminate the Addendum under certain circumstances and switch back to Apple’s standard business terms for their EU apps.

Lastly, it scrapped a demand for a letter of credit from developers who want to create a rival app marketplace and introduced two eligibility criteria.

“A developer may operate an alternative app marketplace if their account has been in existence for two years and they have an established app business in the EU with more than 1 million First Annual Installs,” Apple said.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company’s latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

WhatsApp’s Third-Party Chats Feature Will Uphold End-to-End Encryption, Reveals Meta

WhatsApp will take some more time to bring third-party chats feature to users, Meta explained on Wednesday. As per the European Union’s (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went live on March 6, platforms are required to offer messaging interoperability in individual conversations in the region within three months. However, Meta said it will take the messaging platform more than the allotted time, citing limitations in implementing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) architecture for third-party providers. The company also said that features such as group chats as well as audio and video calling will only be possible after 2024.

In a detailed post, Meta highlighted the workings of its interoperability features, its plans to work with other messaging platforms, and the limitations that are stopping it from adding the feature for users within the given time frame. The tech giant said that it has been building a safety and privacy-centric process for interoperability for nearly two years and has consulted the European Commission.

According to the social media giant, the technical challenges with interoperability are the main reason for the delay. However, it is targeting that by the end of the year, it will be able to implement individual text messaging, voice messages, as well as the sharing of images, videos, and other attached files between end users. While it did not provide a timeline, Meta mentioned that implementing group chats and calling features remains in its plans.

To make interoperability possible with WhatsApp, third-party providers will need to sign an agreement to enable third-party chats. “In order to maximise user security, we would prefer third-party providers to use the Signal Protocol. Since this has to work for everyone however, we will allow third-party providers to use a compatible protocol if they are able to demonstrate it offers the same security guarantees as Signal,” Meta added.

Delving into the technicalities, the post explained that WhatsApp uses the Noise Protocol Framework to encrypt all data between the end user and the servers. As a part of the protocol, third-party providers will need to perform something the company calls ‘Noise Handshake’, which describes the process of providing a payload to the server along with the JWT Token.

As part of the Noise Protocol, the third-party client must perform a “Noise Handshake” every time the client connects to the WhatsApp server. Part of this Handshake is providing a payload to the server which also contains the JSON Web Token (JWT Token). It is a proposed standard to create data with the option to add signature and encryption. This will be the key to connecting with WhatsApp’s servers.

Meanwhile, Meta also said that while it will take responsibility for E2EE while the data is in WhatsApp’s servers and in transit, it cannot ensure the same once the data has been received by the third-party client.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

WhatsApp’s Third-Party Chats Feature Will Let Users Choose Which Apps to Connect With: Report

WhatsApp is gearing up to add support for third-party messages. A report has revealed more details on how the new feature will work and the amount of control users will have while giving access to other messaging apps. It appears that the Meta-owned platform will not only let users choose whether to turn on the feature or not, but it will also let them decide which apps to connect with. Notably, WhatsApp has to take this feature live before March 6, which is the date the European Union’s (EU) new Digital Markets Act (DMA) comes into effect.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, which shared a screenshot of the new feature from the developer build version 2.24.6.2, the new feature, called third-party chats is an interoperability feature for the regions within the EU. The EU has mandated that users should have a way to speak with other users on different messaging apps, without having to download multiple apps. Once live, WhatsApp users should be able to text users on Telegram, Signal, and other similar platforms.

Leaked screenshot of WhatsApp’s Third-party chats
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

 

In the screenshot, a new interface page can be seen under the label of Third-party chats. A new icon for the functionality can also be seen which is essentially a message icon with three circles placed in triangular shape. One of the circles is in a dark green colour, likely indicating a third-party app. Setting options to Turn off third-party chats could also be seen. Another option reads Selected apps that is expected to give users control over which apps to connect with.

The granular controls are in sync with the DMA guidelines that require users to have control over data sharing and communication preferences. This way users can decide whether they want to use this feature or not, for how long they want to use it, and with which apps they want to connect. At this moment, the release date of the feature is not known. It is not expected to be rolled out outside of Europe.

An earlier report highlighted another interface page of the feature. What appeared to be the starting screen for the feature, WhatsApp added multiple warnings for users to understand before turning on third-party chats. While one of the warnings highlighted the lack of end-to-end encryption for messages, another warned against increased spam and scams.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2024 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

WhatsApp ‘Third-Party Chat’ Interface Leaked Ahead of EU’s DMA Deadline

WhatsApp, the end-to-end encryption (E2EE) messaging platform, is expected to soon add support for third-party messages. Now, a leaked image has surfaced that shows a glimpse into how the new interface would look. The image suggests that the feature may only debut in Europe for now. Notably, the Meta-owned platform is required to add support for cross-platform messaging as per the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which comes into effect on March 6. It is expected that WhatsApp will make the feature live before the deadline.

The leaked screenshot was shared via a WABetaInfo report, which revealed that in the upcoming WhatsApp build version 2.24.5.18, a chat interoperability feature will be added. Also known as third-party chats, it will allow users to send messages to a user on Signal, Telegram, or other messaging apps directly from WhatsApp, without needing to install the said app. The feature is said to allow more fluid and accessible communication between users by lifting the platform-related restrictions.

Leaked screenshot of WhatsApp’s Third-party chat interface
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

 

In the leaked image, a header labeled Third-party chats can be seen. The screen appears to be an opt-in screen, with the bottom containing a button to Turn on the feature. The middle of the page comes with several warnings. The first warning states, “You’re messaging someone outside of WhatsApp. Third-party apps may use different end-to-end encryption.” Another warning highlighted that instances of spam and scams might be more common with third-party chats. The final warning read, “Third-party apps have their own policies. They may handle your data differently than WhatsApp does.” The final line explained that the feature is being offered to users in the European region as required by law.

WhatsApp Engineering Director Dick Brouwer earlier confirmed the feature, stating the company was working on it, according to a report. He also explained that these chats will be shown separately as they are not protected by the messaging app’s E2EE protocol. It was also said that WhatsApp has begun documenting its client-server protocol to let other chat services connect their clients directly to WhatsApp’s servers and message users across platforms.

In case third-party platforms are unwilling to follow the procedure, they would need to verify that their encryption protocol matches WhatsApp’s security standard. The report highlighted that several popular platforms did not confirm if they were working with the Meta-owned platform to add support for chat interoperability or not.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2024 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

iOS 17.4 Public Beta Released With New Emoji, Changes to App Store for EU Customers

iOS 17.4 is now rolling out to beta testers on the company’s public beta channel, a week after Apple rolled out the update to developers. The upcoming iOS update is expected to arrive in the coming weeks with several changes to how iOS works in specific countries. In order to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations, Apple will soon allow customers in the region to access third party app stores while opening up other parts of the operating system including NFC support for third party apps.

Apple began to roll out the iOS 17.4 public beta (21E5184k) on Tuesday and there are a few user-facing changes that are visible after updating to the latest version. Apple has updated the Stolen Device Protection feature — introduced with the iOS 17.3 update — with a new option that always requires a delay when changing security settings, ignoring when the phone is in familiar locations.

While users outside the EU won’t benefit from all of the changes coming to iOS 17.4, the update includes support for third-party app stores that can be installed on an iPhone, while browsers like Firefox and Chrome can support their own browser engine. Game streaming will also be allowed with iOS 17.4, while Apple Pay competitors will be able to use the NFC technology on the iPhone for contactless payments.

With iOS 17.4 Apple is including six new emoji — Broken Chain, Brown Mushroom, Head Shaking Horizontally, Head Shaking Vertically, Lime, and Phoenix Bird. These will be visible in apps and can be sent to other users via the system keyboard. The update also replaces the detailed family emoji with simplified versions, while emoji of moving characters are now shown with variations for different directions.

The Apple Podcasts app has also been updated with support for automatic transcriptions that are generated for an episode and displayed in the app, while the company has updated the Listen Now tab at the bottom of its podcasts app and the Apple Music app with a new label — Home. No other visual changes are visible on both apps.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Apple’s Plan to Comply With EU’s DMA Regulation ‘Farce’, Spotify Says

Spotify said on Friday that Apple’s new plan to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is “a complete and total farce.”

From early March, developers will be able to offer alternative app stores on iPhone and opt out of using Apple’s in-app payment system, which charges commissions of up to 30 percent, under the bloc’s new rules.

However, developers will still be required to pay a “core technology fee” of EUR 50 (roughly Rs. 4,500) per user account per year under Apple’s new EU regime.

“From the beginning, Apple has been clear that they didn’t like the idea of abiding by the DMA. So they’ve formulated an undesirable alternative to the status quo,” the music streaming-giant said on Friday.

Spotify said it would have to pay a 17 percent commission if it stays in the App Store and offers its own in-app payment under the new terms.

“Every developer can choose to stay on the same terms in place today. And under the new terms, more than 99 percent of developers would pay the same or less to Apple,” Apple said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Apple faces strong action if changes to its App Store do not meet incoming regulations, the bloc’s industry chief exclusively told Reuters on Friday.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version