Google and Apple face EU scrutiny over DMA compliance

Failure to comply with the Digital Markets Act could result in substantial fines

Google and Apple are facing fresh regulatory pressure from the European Commission as the bloc enforces its landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA).

In preliminary findings announced on Wednesday, the EU’s competition enforcers accused Google of breaching the DMA’s rules through self-preferencing in its search results and imposing unfair restrictions on app developers within its Play Store. Meanwhile, Apple has been ordered to improve third-party device integration and increase transparency in interoperability processes.

Google under fire for search and play store practices

The European Commission’s preliminary findings on Google allege two major breaches of the DMA. The first concerns Google Search, with regulators asserting that the company gives undue prominence to its own services in search results.

“Alphabet treats its own services, such as shopping, hotel booking, transport, or financial and sports results, more favourably in Google Search results than similar services offered by third parties,” the Commission stated.

“More specifically, Alphabet gives its own services more prominent treatment compared to others by displaying them at the top of Google Search results or on dedicated spaces, with enhanced visual formats and filtering mechanisms,” it added.

The second concern relates to the Play Store, where regulators suspect that Google is restricting developers from directing users to alternative purchasing options beyond Google’s ecosystem.

“Alphabet technically prevents certain aspects of steering, for instance, by preventing app developers from steering customers to the offers and distribution channels of their choice,” the Commission wrote.

“Whilst Alphabet can receive a fee for facilitating the initial acquisition of a new customer by an app developer via Google Play, the fees charged by Alphabet go beyond what is justified. For example, Alphabet charges developers a high fee over an unduly long period of time for every purchase of digital goods and services.”

The findings mark a significant step in the EU’s ongoing enforcement of the DMA, which aims to ensure fair competition in the digital marketplace. Confirmed violations could lead to fines of up to 10% of Google’s global annual turnover.

Responding to the allegations, Google released a blog post arguing that the Commission’s findings would negatively impact consumers and businesses.

“The Commission’s findings require us to make even more changes to how we show certain types of Search results, which would make it harder for people to find what they are looking for and reduce traffic to European businesses,” wrote Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director of competition.

Bethell also warned that changes to Play Store policies could expose users to “malware and fraud from bad apps.”

“If we can’t protect our users from scammy or malicious links that take our users outside of the secure Play environment, then the Commission is effectively forcing us to choose between a closed model and an unsafe one,” he argued.

Apple ordered to improve third-party device integration

While Google contends with its preliminary breach findings, Apple has been directed to improve interoperability between iPhones and third-party devices. The Commission’s decision requires Apple to enhance connectivity for external smartwatches, headphones and TVs, as well as to provide better documentation for developers seeking to integrate their products with iOS.

“The first set of measures concerns nine iOS connectivity features, predominantly used for connected devices such as smartwatches, headphones or TVs,” the Commission stated. “The measures will grant device manufacturers and app developers improved access to iPhone features that interact with such devices (e.g. displaying notifications on smartwatches), faster data transfers (e.g. peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connections, and near-field communication) and easier device set-up (e.g. pairing).”

The EU is also requiring Apple to make its interoperability processes more transparent and efficient.

“The second set of measures improves the transparency and effectiveness of the process that Apple devised for developers interested in obtaining interoperability with iPhone and iPad features. It includes improved access to technical documentation on features not yet available to third parties, timely communication and updates, and a more predictable timeline for the review of interoperability requests.”

Apple has pushed back against the ruling, arguing that the requirements place an unfair burden on the company. In a statement to 9to5Mac, an Apple spokesperson said:

“Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules. It’s bad for our products and for our European users.”

A broader push for compliance

The European Commission’s actions against Google and Apple are part of a wider crackdown on Big Tech’s market dominance under the DMA. The Commission previously fined Apple €1.84 billion for unfair steering practices related to the App Store and issued preliminary findings last summer on additional App Store breaches. Google’s latest investigation follows similar complaints from competitors, who argue that the company has attempted to circumvent the DMA’s self-preferencing rules.

Commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera emphasised that these measures aim to enforce fair competition.

“The two preliminary findings we adopt today aim to ensure that Alphabet abides by EU rules when it comes to two services widely used by businesses and consumers across the EU, Google Search and Android phones,” she said.

“In the first case, our preliminary view is that Alphabet is in breach of the Digital Markets Act by favouring its own products on the Google Search results page, which means suppliers and competitors do not benefit from fair ranking practices. In the second case, we take the preliminary view that Alphabet does not effectively allow Android phone users to be told about or directed to cheaper offers from app developers outside the Google Play store.”

“Let me be clear: Our main focus is creating a culture of compliance with the Digital Markets Act,” Ribera added. “Non-compliance proceedings are reserved for situations where attempts at dialogue have not been successful. But as always, we apply our laws in a fair and non-discriminatory way, and fully respect parties’ rights of defence.”

With both Google and Apple under scrutiny, the next steps remain uncertain. Google has the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s findings before any final decision is made, while Apple will need to implement the required interoperability measures. Failure to comply with the DMA could result in substantial fines.