Apple Intelligence: EU Commissioner lashes out at Apple

Apple Intelligence and two other new functions in Apple's software could come later in the EU. This is what the Competition Commissioner says.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at the Forum Europe

(Image: New Economy Forum)

Jun 28, 2024 at 11:41 pm CEST

2 min. read

Mac & i

By

Malte Kirchner

This article was originally published in German and has been automatically translated.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager sees Apple's declaration that it will not make its AI functions available to EU users under the umbrella term Apple Intelligence for the time being as evidence that the company wants to prevent competition. When asked at a conference called Forum Europe in Brussels, she commented on the move that Apple announced last Friday.

Apple told the media that it might not be able to make Apple Intelligence, iPhone mirroring on the Mac and a new remote maintenance function via SharePlay available in the European Union this year. The reason for this is the interoperability requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The EU law for digital services sets requirements that could jeopardize the data security and privacy of Apple users, Apple argued. Critics accuse Apple of trying to exert pressure on the EU via users. However, reactions to Apple's announcement were mixed.

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"Astounding open declaration"

"I think this is the most amazing open statement that they know 100 percent that this is another way to eliminate competition where they already have a stronghold," Vestager countered. The DMA is, in a nutshell, about enabling competition, she said. She found it very interesting that Apple only wanted to use AI in areas where the company was not obliged to allow competition.

Apple, on the other hand, announced that it did want to work with the European Commission to find a solution. The aim is to make the functions available to EU users without compromising their security. Apple has already made a similar argument when it comes to enabling alternative marketplaces for apps - however, the measures taken by Apple to ensure security are currently the subject of an investigation by the EU into whether there have been any violations of the DMA. An initial review has shown that this is the case.