Apple Probed by Italy Over EU Digital Market Rules

Italy's competition watchdog has initiated an investigation into Apple concerning potential non-compliance with its obligations under the European Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The investigation focuses on whether Apple has adequately ensured that third-party consumer cloud services can effectively inter-operate with its iOS and iPadOS hardware and software. The DMA requires these services to have equal access to components as Apple's own iCloud service.

The Italian authority stated it possesses evidence suggesting other cloud providers are not on equal footing with iCloud, lacking access to the same components made available to Apple's service.

Apple has responded by asserting that it has adhered to the digital market regulations. The company added that it is ready to discuss the concerns raised by the Italian authority, emphasizing that this particular issue related to iCloud had not been previously raised during extensive discussions with the European Commission regarding interoperability.

This probe marks the first investigation launched by the Italian watchdog under the DMA, a framework that empowers national regulators to conduct preliminary inquiries. The findings from this investigation will subsequently be forwarded to the EU Commission for further review.