iPhone Regulation: Why Apple Gets Along Better with Japan than with Europe
In Japan, a law will come into force on December 18 that strongly resembles the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe. Nevertheless, Apple is relaxed. Why is that?
(Image: Jim Barber/Shutterstock.com)
Conciliatory tones from Apple regarding regulation – this is an unusual experience for European ears. When it comes to the requirements of the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA) in Japan, there is indeed a clearly audible grinding of teeth from Cupertino. External interventions in Apple's system create new risks. After all, iPhone buyers were satisfied with the closed system for 20 years, they say.
However, unlike with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union, the chances are apparently not so bad that the iPhone manufacturer can still find peace with the requirements in Japan. The provisions officially come into force on December 18, 2025. In iOS 26.2, the latest update for the iPhone, the massive changes in the operating system for Japan are being implemented and activated, as the company has now announced.
What distinguishes the Japanese law from the DMA
At first glance, the Japanese MSCA does not seem to differ significantly from the European DMA at all. Companies like Apple and Google are instructed to open their smartphones to alternative app marketplaces and external payment options. Browser engines must also become interchangeable, and users have the choice of which default browser they want to use, as well as for several other default apps. As in Europe, the question is about an appropriate fee for distributing software via app stores or about interoperability. And Japan is getting a freely configurable side button for voice assistants. This had already become loud in advance, but EU users will not get it due to the lack of regulation.
Apple's response – a tiered fee model for developers and the Core Technology Fee – are old acquaintances for Europeans. They would lead to all developers in Japan paying the same or even less in the future, Apple argues. The app store commission ranges from 10 to 21 percent, and the payment processing fee is 5 percent. And anyone who completely bypasses Apple's system still has to pay a 5 percent core technology fee. This is the price Apple charges for centrally notarizing and technically processing all apps.
Tone matters
On paper, many things look the same between Japan and the EU. But tone matters. The law passed in Japan in June 2024 relies more on dialogue than confrontation, is heard from Apple Park. The Japanese are concerned with data protection, security, and child protection for users. In Europe, they argue in Cupertino, the interests of a few large competitors are primarily being satisfied. This leads to a worse user experience and compromises in security, Apple is convinced.
What makes Apple conciliatory in Japan is likely the numerous exceptions and the bargaining chips that the company has there. Concerns about cybersecurity or child protection can override certain rules. For example, there are alternative app stores in Japan, but no complete sideloading. The requirements for interoperability also turn the European principle on its head: in Japan, this is available on request, while in Europe they want it "by design" – i.e., when new functions are launched. The European model is based on the fear that requests could be indefinitely postponed. Therefore, they want interoperability immediately. The Americans, on the other hand, see this as an obstacle to innovation and an expropriation of intellectual property, but also as a major security risk.
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Enviable conditions
This leads to unpopular delays and even the abandonment of features in the EU. iPhone remote control for Mac (iPhone Mirroring) has been unavailable in the EU for two years now. With Apple Intelligence and AirPods live translation, Apple made European customers tremble initially because changes had to be made or compliance had to be checked – in the end, it was not so bad and the functions arrived insignificantly later. But the shock among customers ran deep. This has fueled a lot of resentment against the EU, but has also led some to critically question Apple's behavior.
At least on the day of introduction, the Japanese conditions seem enviable from a European perspective. No threat of legal action, constructive discussions, and the regulator gets its functions, while new features are to be brought to Japan without delay – European customers undoubtedly wish for this too. However, it remains to be seen whether the situation in Japan will truly remain so harmonious and whether the law will prove to be a tame paper tiger if the regulated parties are too satisfied with it.
A helping hand from Cupertino?
What can be stated in any case, however, is that the dream times of maximum self-determination, which Apple laments, are over in more and more parts of the world, not just in Europe. After 20 years, it seems that in Cupertino, too, people are slowly coming to terms with the idea that the success story of the iPhone brings with it a downside: having to submit to stronger state regulation. The conciliatory tones towards the Japanese law suggest that Apple seems willing to deal constructively with this new situation.
In Cupertino, they portray it as if the bureaucrats in Brussels alone are to blame for the previous intransigence of their statements on the DMA. And undoubtedly, the fronts between the EU and Apple have hardened more than ever recently and years. However, the example of Japan and currents in the EU questioning the intensity of their own regulation could be a silver lining. One should not overestimate it: it is a tiny glimmer of hope. But the fact that Apple tolerates regulation that reaches deep into the operating system and doesn't simply want it abolished is progress and a helping hand. The biggest in years.
(mki)
