Tag: eu

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

Spotify Says Apple Has Rejected Its App Update With Price Information for EU Users

Apple has rejected Spotify’s new version of its iOS app with in-app pricing information for users in the European Union, the audio streaming firm said on Thursday.

The Swedish company submitted a new version of its app to Apple with basic pricing and website information, which is a minimum requirement under the European Commission’s ruling in its music streaming case, it said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Spotify said Apple rejected its update in a response directly sent to the company.

“Apple has once again defied the European Commission’s decision, rejecting our update for attempting to communicate with customers about our prices unless we pay Apple a new tax. Their disregard for consumers and developers is matched only by their disdain for the law,” a spokesperson for Spotify said in a statement.

Apple said it will approve the new version of the app after Spotify accepts the terms of the Music Streaming Services Entitlement in the European Economic Area (EEA), and resubmit it for review.

“This entitlement is required even if your app does not include an external link,” Apple said in a response to Spotify about the app update.

Under Apple’s proposal, Spotify and other streaming services can include links to their websites to inform users of payment options outside its App Store and the company would charge a 27 percent commission on transactions made through a link.

Spotify did not include the in-app link in the update submitted to Apple.

Spotify said it does not want to be a part of Apple’s entitlement as it is a new set of anti-steering restrictions and includes the 27 percent commission on digital purchases made through links.

“We are currently assessing whether Apple has fully complied with the decision,” a spokesperson for the European Commission said, adding the Commission will also assess any changes implemented by Apple to its App Store business terms under the Digital Markets Act.

In March, Brussels fined Apple with EUR 1.84 billion ($1.97 billion or roughly Rs. 16,418 crore) for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store.

© 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

Apple Offer to Open Up NFC-Based Tap-and-Go Technology Said to Be on Track for EU Approval by May

Apple’s offer to open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals is set to be approved by EU antitrust regulators as soon as next month after it tweaked some of the terms, people familiar with the matter said.

Apple’s bid to settle the four-year investigation would help it dodge a finding of wrongdoing and stave off a potential hefty fine that could be as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.

Apple’s tap-and-go technology called near-field communication, or NFC, allows for contactless payments with mobile wallets.

The European Commission two years ago accused Apple of thwarting competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet by preventing rival mobile wallets app developers from accessing its tap-and-go technology.

The U.S. tech giant in January offered to let rivals access its NFC on its iPhones, iPads and other Apple mobile devices free of charge without having to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet, with access based on fair and non-discriminatory criteria.

It also offered to provide additional functionalities including defaulting of preferred payment apps, access to authentication features such as FaceID and a suppression mechanism, and also to set up a dispute settlement mechanism.

Apple was asked to tweak some of the terms following feedback from rivals and customers. The NFC proposal would be for 10 years.

The Commission aims to accept the offer by the summer, with May as the likeliest month although the timing could still change as it waits for Apple to work out the final technical details, the people familiar with the matter said.

The company was hit with a 1.84 billion-euro ($2 billion) fine, its first EU antitrust penalty, last month for thwarting competition from Spotify and other music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store.

© 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

Meta, Others Online Platforms Should Give Users Free Option Without Targeted Ads, Says EU Privacy Watchdog

Meta Platforms and other large online platforms should offer users the option to use their services for free without targeted advertising, the EU privacy watchdog said on Wednesday, responding to the company’s paid ad-free service that has triggered criticism.

The US tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by advertising revenues.

Privacy activists and consumer groups say such practices could encourage other companies to follow suit. National privacy regulators in the Netherlands, Norway and Germany subsequently asked the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) for an opinion on the validity of such consent.

“If controllers do opt to charge a fee for access to the ‘equivalent alternative’, they should give significant consideration to offering an additional alternative. This free alternative should be without behavioural advertising,” EDPB said in a statement.

It said one example could be a form of advertising where less or no personal data is involved.

The watchdog said a third option was important as most users do not fully understand the implications of their choices when asked to choose between paying for an ad-free service or agreeing to be tracked in return for a free service funded by advertising revenues.

It said companies offering just a binary choice to users may fall foul of requirements for valid consent under EU privacy rules.

The US tech giant earlier on Wednesday referred to its previous blogs which said that ‘subscription for no ads’ conforms to a European Union court ruling backing such models as a way for people to consent to data processing for targeted advertising.

“We welcome that the EDPB has started a more nuanced discussion on ‘pay or okay’ and at least clarified that large platforms cannot use ‘pay or okay’,” advocacy group NOYB’s chairman Max Schrems said in a statement referring to the choice of either paying for privacy or consenting to data collection.

Politico first reported the EDPB’s opinion.

© 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

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

Apple’s New Guidelines Now Allow Game Emulators on App Store

Apple has come under scrutiny in the European Union for its strict App Store rules that restrict external payment options, sideloading of apps and more. The iPhone maker and other tech giants like Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and more, however, have had to bring in several changes to their policies since the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into effect for the companies in March. Now, Apple will allow game emulator apps on the App Store.

The Cupertino, California based company has established strict guidelines for software hosted on its app storefront. Game emulators, which allow a device to run video games released on a different platform by emulating the hardware of the platform, were not allowed on App Store. In its latest App Review Guidelines, however, Apple confirmed that it will allow developers to make and distribute emulation software on its App Store globally.

Apple announced the development in the “Mini apps, mini games, streaming games, chatbots, plug-ins, and game emulators” section of the guidelines. “Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games,” the company said. A report in 9to5Mac also said that Apple sent an email to developers confirming the change.

The company, however, added that developers would be responsible for the emulation software offered in the app and would need to ensure that it complies with Apple’s guidelines and applicable laws. Apps that fail to comply with the rules will be rejected from being hosted on the App Store.

It is still unclear if the App Store will allow third-party emulation software applications that run retro games from publishers like Nintendo, Sega and others on the platform. Game publishers have historically cracked down on emulators that run their games on other devices.

As part of its new app guidelines, Apple will now also allow music streaming apps like Spotify to provide a link to users, directing them to their own website for purchases. Apple users in European Economic Area can provide their email address to music streaming apps to receive a link to the developer’s website to make payments for digital services.

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

US and UK Announce Partnership on AI Safety and Testing

The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and British Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to jointly develop advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in November.

“We all know AI is the defining technology of our generation,” Raimondo said. “This partnership will accelerate both of our institutes work across the full spectrum to address the risks of our national security concerns and the concerns of our broader society.”

Britain and the United States are among countries establishing government-led AI safety institutes.

Britain said in October its institute would examine and test new types of AI, while the United States said in November it was launching its own safety institute to evaluate risks from so-called frontier AI models and is now working with 200 companies and entities.

Under the formal partnership, Britain and the United States plan to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring personnel exchanges between the institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety.

“This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world,” Donelan said. “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society, and has vast potential to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, but only if we are able to grip those risks.”

Generative AI – which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts – has spurred excitement as well as fears it could make some jobs obsolete, upend elections and potentially overpower humans and catastrophic effects.

In a joint interview with Reuters Monday, Raimondo and Donelan urgent joint action was needed to address AI risks.

“Time is of the essence because the next set of models are about to be released, which will be much, much more capable,” Donelan said. “We have a focus one the areas that we are dividing and conquering and really specializing.”

Raimondo said she would raise AI issues at a meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council in Belgium Thursday.

The Biden administration plans to soon announce additions to its AI team, Raimondo said. “We are pulling in the full resources of the US government.”

Both countries plan to share key information on capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems and technical research on AI safety and security.

In October, Biden signed an executive order that aims to reduce the risks of AI. In January, the Commerce Department said it was proposing to require US cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing US data centers to train AI models.

Britain said in February it would spend more than GBP 100 million ($125.5 million or roughly Rs. 1,047 crore) to launch nine new research hubs and AI train regulators about the technology.

Raimondo said she was especially concerned about the threat of AI applied to bioterrorism or a nuclear war simulation.

“Those are the things where the consequences could be catastrophic and so we really have to have zero tolerance for some of these models being used for that capability,” she said.

© 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

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 Changes Decision, to Allow Epic Games Store in iPhones, iPads in EU

Under pressure from European regulators, Apple took a step back in its feud with Epic Games on Friday, clearing the way for Epic to put its own game store on iPhones and iPads in Europe.

Earlier this week, Apple had taken steps to block Epic from starting up a store and bringing back the popular game Fortnite, which Apple removed from its App Store in 2020 after Epic broke the iPhone maker’s in-app payment rules in protest.

Apple’s decision to open its door to Epic follows the European Union’s Thursday deadline for Big Tech companies to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of rules that bans Apple and Google from controlling which apps are distributed on devices with the iOS and Android operating systems.

Thierry Breton, the EU’s industry chief, said regulators had warned Apple about the iPhone maker’s move earlier this week to block Epic’s potential return.

“I take note with satisfaction that following our contacts Apple decided to backtrack its decision on Epic exclusion. From Day 2, #DMA is already showing very concrete results!” Breton said on the X social media platform.

Epic and Apple 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 iOS devices violated US antitrust rules. Epic lost its court battle against Apple, and the game maker’s gambit to intentionally break Apple’s rules as a protest got it banned from Apple’s devices.

Epic’s victory on Friday leaves it well short of everything it wants from Apple.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has criticized Apple’s plans for complying with the DMA, under which Apple says it still has the right to exclude third-party app marketplaces from its devices under some circumstances. And Fortnite remains unavailable in the App Store in the United States.

For its part, Apple is grappling with an erosion of its App Store business model at the same time it has told investors that iPhone sales this quarter will be billions of dollars lower than what Wall Street expected.

The most recent tangle between Apple and Epic involved Apple’s developer accounts, which are normally a minor but necessary administrative step for developers before selling apps on Apple devices.

Apple on Friday reinstated Epic Games’ developer account two days after it had blocked the company from launching its own online marketplace on iPhones and iPads in Europe.

The game developer said it will move on with its plans to bring the Epic Games Store and Fortnite back to iOS in the continent.

“This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable,” Epic Games added.

Apple earlier this week said it had terminated Epic’s account because the company’s actions made it doubt whether it intended to follow the new rules Apple has set out to comply with the DMA.

“Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program,” Apple said in a statement.

© 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

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

Exit mobile version