DMA: European Commission falls short on interoperability requirements for Apple
Despite initial promising steps, the European Commission’s measures on Apple’s compliance with interoperability procedures under the Digital Markets Act fall short. The less stringent obligations on API documentation and long deadlines for interoperability solutions will impact how Free Software projects get interoperability from Apple.
On 19 March 2025, the European Commission published its final decision on the specifications to improve Apple’s “request-driven approach” to comply with DMA’s Art. 6(7). The decision specifies how Apple should grant interoperability to developers seeking access to software and hardware functions controlled by iOS and iPadOS. This decision follows a public consultation in December 2024, in which the FSFE and other stakeholders took part. In the consultation, the FSFE supported the Commission’s intent to draft for Apple a path to achieve “interoperability by design”, including significant requirements for the company related to the quality of API documentation, transparency of the decision making process, and comprehensive reporting obligations.
However, the Commission’s final version introduced a series of less stringent obligations, weakening the requirements imposed on Apple to allow interoperability of its operating systems. In a joint statement with its partners, the FSFE weighs the positives and negatives of the decision and raises concerns over the weaker approach taken by the Commission.
Read the full statement here (EN).
“The Commission’s decision represents a setback for requiring interoperability as a tool for regulating digital markets. The Commission runs the risk of normalising Apple's restrictive, request-based approach to allowing interoperability of operating systems, rather than adoption a regulatory solution that would benefit software freedom of alternative projects and smaller developers. We still remain optimistic that the enforcement of the new rules will cause better interoperability policies for developers, positively impacting end-users. Ultimately we urge the Commission to engage further with civil society and projects providing software alternatives to Apple’s proprietary services.” reports Lucas Lasota, FSFE Legal Programme Manager