Sources close to the European Union are reporting that Apple might not have to pay the massive amount it was fined for not complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The decision was made considering that the Cupertino tech giant introduced multiple changes to how browsers work on the iPhone.
However, sources also add that the recent decision by the Trump government to impose tariffs on countries imposing fines on US companies may also have contributed to the EU reversing its plan of action for Apple. If kept on track, the fine by the EU’s DMA could have been as high as 10% of Apple’s annual revenue.
The EU’s antitrust watchdog proposed the fines because of what it considered anti-competition practices by Apple. Earlier, iPhones used to ship with Safari as the default browser, and users were not able to use other browsers as the go-to option.
Though third-party browsers worked on Apple devices, they were required to use the WebKit engine instead of dedicated engines like Blink.
The European Union has found issues with how Apple places the Safari browser in comparison with others. After the first change, users were able to replace Safari as the default browser. However, the EU contended that by keeping Safari the default option, the Apple browser had a noticeable advantage.
In January 2024, Apple announced that it would allow users to choose the default web browser when a user is setting up their iPhone for the first time. All available web browsers will be listed in a random order. It meant that Safari would not be given the additional advantage, at least in the EU.
Apple also announced that third-party browsers would be able to use rendering engines other than WebKit. As of now, the browser selection screen is available on the latest version of iOS and iPadOS. Many browsers are able to utilize rendering engines other than WebKit as well.
Now that Apple has addressed both issues regarding browser options, the EU believes the company complies with DMA as far as the particular problem is concerned. The officials say that they will conclude the investigation next week, and Apple will not have to pay any fines.
It is worth noting that the browser is not the only issue that the EU is prosecuting Apple for. The tech giant is under for another antitrust violation regarding steering practices. It is reported that developers are unable to link third-party payment methods and gateways. The EU is expected to announce a decision soon.
The Digital Markets Act enabled the antitrust watchdog to act against Apple, asking the company to fix the issue and pay the fine. The act exists so that customers have the freedom and options to move their data between multiple devices and platforms easily.
For a walled-garden company like Apple, these tenets cause a lot of issues. More importantly, it will create a scenario where the iOS/iPadOS experience in the EU will be quite different from that of the US and other parts of the world.
