We all thought that, with the arrival of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the obligations regarding third-party stores were going to be limited to the iPhone, as a mass product. However, Europe has other plans. The European Commission has just sort out to iPadOS, and, therefore, to the iPad, as a device that may fall under the DMA standards, so from now on the same regulations apply as the iPhone.
This means, de facto, that the Apple tablet also has to comply with the specifications of the regulations, and open your system to third party app stores, along with the rest of the requirements of European law. Apple now has six months to ensure iPadOS’s full compliance with DMA obligations. The same period that was given, by the way, to the iPhone.
According to Europe, despite not meeting the quantitative thresholds established in the WFD, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for professional users to reach consumer users and designates it as gatekeeperthe classification that requires guaranteeing full compliance with the obligations of the DMA.
The iPad will also have to include third-party app stores
The commission considers that Apple enjoys a strong position regarding iPadOSand although today the numbers of your system are not those required by the DMA, you will be able to do so in the near future and, therefore, you must comply with the regulations:
Today, we have included Apple’s iPadOS within the scope of DMA obligations. Our market research showed that, despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS is an important gateway that many businesses rely on to reach their customers. Today’s decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved on this platform as well, in addition to the other 22 services we designated last September. Apple has six months to make iPadOS compliant with the DMA.
Margrethe Vestager, vice president of competition
And what does all this mean? Well then The iPad will receive the same treatment as the iPhone. Third-party app stores, allowing small businesses to offer their products to customers outside the platform, third-party payment systems, opening up key system functions…
Now it remains to be seen when Apple will be able to implement the necessary measures for the iPad to comply with the DMA specifications, but given the six-month period, it seems that it is not something that we will see until the end of the year, as is the case with the iPhone. Besides, there are no obligations to offer it to users outside the European Unionso it is quite likely that the same conditions as with the iPhone will be maintained, at least for now.
For its part, Apple confirms that will comply with the DMA guidelines following the announcement by the European Commission in all services to which the regulations apply. The company has issued the following statement regarding the classification of iPadOS under the umbrella of the Digital Markets Law.
“We will continue to work constructively with the European Commission to comply with the Digital Markets Act in all designated services. Our priority remains to offer the best products and services to our European customers, while mitigating new risks to privacy and the security of the data that the Digital Markets Law poses to our users.”
Apple statement
