Apple Intelligence Skipping Europe is Anticompetitive, Says EU

Apple won’t be making its recently announced AI features available in Europe, a decision European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager on Thursday slammed for being proof of the tech giant’s alleged anticompetitive behaviour (via Euractiv).

Earlier this month at WWDC 2024, Apple announced a host of new AI-powered features coming to its platforms under the umbrella of “Apple Intelligence.” Apple is expected to start rolling out Apple Intelligence features to the public with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year.

However, the company later announced that the rollout of Apple Intelligence would skip Europe. According to Apple, the interoperability requirements the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) would impose on Apple Intelligence features pose a threat to user privacy and security.

While Apple Intelligence is expected to offer a more chatbot-like experience with Siri and even feature ChatGPT integration, the personal intelligence system won’t come with a standalone chatbot of its own.

Instead, users will be able to access Apple’s AI features through other apps and services like Siri, Writing Tools, Mail, Photos, and more. In the eyes of the European Commission, a lack of interoperability with non-Apple apps could be seen as anti-competitive behaviour.

Apple’s decision not to release its homemade AI features in Europe is a “stunning, open declaration that they know 100% that this is another way of disabling competition where they have a stronghold already,” Margrethe Vestager, who serves as the EU’s Commissioner for Competition, said during a Forum Europa event.

The DMA is landmark legislation designed to compel large companies designated as “gatekeepers” to open up their businesses and platforms to competition if they want to continue operating in Europe. Apple is classified as one of these gatekeepers under the DMA’s terms, leading to the European Commission bearing down on the tech giant on several fronts.

Earlier this week, Apple became the first company to be formally charged under the DMA’s rules after the European Commission concluded that the App Store’s regulations don’t satisfy the legislation’s steering requirements. Back in January, Apple announced plans to allow sideloading and third-party app markets on its platforms to comply with the DMA.

Failure to adhere to the DMA’s rules could saddle Apple (and other gatekeepers) with fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue. What’s more, repeat offences could double that percentage.

Apple Intelligence also won’t be available at launch in China, where regulations around generative AI are much stricter.