European Commission to force Apple to open up app store payments options and more

A new document shows the European Commission will force Apple to allow users to utilize third-party app stores and payment systems. 

It will force Apple to make its Message interoperable with other messaging apps — including iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger — to adhere to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

If Apple and other companies don’t comply, the European Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover or 20% in the event of repeated infringements and periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of the company’s total worldwide daily turnover.

Not surprisingly, Apple strongly opposes the DMA. The tech giant told ABC News on March 25 that “it was concerned that parts of the Digital Markets Act “will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users while others will prohibit us from charging for intellectual property in which we invest a great deal.”

The EU is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its policies aim “to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.”