I don’t think the EU will care in the slightest. I’m also not sure what this latest round of their meddling is, but I’m sure it can’t be good.
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Definitely agreed that it’s unprecedented and goes much further than even I expected.
I personally don’t think that this is explicitly about hitting US companies, though I’m conscious that this is the practical effect.
The DOJ are literally in the middle of trying to break Google apart, so it’s pretty clear that there are real issues with the concentration of power in handful of massive tech firms, which all happen to be US based.
But its not like the EU are alone in thinking that this is a problem.
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That’s what concerns me. Not that they’re not alone in their thinking, but that they’re first to act, and how they’re going about solving it. Other countries are watching, and I think it would be a shame if they simply copy what the EU has done, because I don’t believe it’s the right way to go about it. Compliance from the companies you’re regulating is too easy to construe a law as effective and working.
Whatever regulations you bring in to level the playing field though need to be applicable to every player, or they don’t work and just wind up being detrimental, both to the company you’re regulating, and the end user.
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Can someone ELI5 what the new changes are / will be?
I have my pitchfork ready just don’t know why I’m raising it against the EU.
I’m mostly with you, except on this bit.
The whole point of regulation is that some entities are just too big/powerful and need specific regulation.
For me, it’s the difference between iOS needing more some regulation vs the Mac not being an issue (both because it’s more open and also because it just isn’t as important).
I don’t think the same regulation needs to apply to smaller players as they don’t have the same market power.
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In short, they want to (or Apple to) redesign iOS to their own specifications, then make Apple build it. They want complete system level interoperability with every other platform in existence to the same extent Apple’s own platforms do (but half that equation is down to other vendors adopting those APIs rather than pushing their own), which not even FOSS software achieves, or the BBC in the UK with iplayer for that matter despite their endeavour as a requirement of the licence fee.
I think what they’re wanting is for every other headphone or peripheral to work identically to Apple’s own. But what they’re gonna get is Apple’s own accessories being restricted to the existing open standard limitations and first APIs others are. They want every single software vendor to be able to have system level access to every component of iOS like baked in apps do (there’s a disconnect or misunderstanding here, because that access derives from the fact that some of those things are just extensions of the OS, and less actual apps).
It also means things like Airdrop for windows and iOS (and other platforms) must be made. The continuity features must come to those platforms too. It’s very broad and very overreaching. Apple Watch working with other platforms to the exact same functionality it does on iOS. AirPods too. Are these even possible without forcing the other parties to build the technology necessary to do that? I think they’re expecting Apple to give it away to everyone.
It’s authoritarian and Orwellian.
9to5mac’s summary is decent:
When you regulate in that way though, you don’t actually fix anything. You just shift the power imbalance for someone else to exploit later. The EU know this though, and the laws have been structured in such a way to cultivate EU based companies to have the best chance of achieving that.
A large part of the dominance of Apple and Google today is down to how they regulated Microsoft and not the problematic practices themselves. Apple got to where they are today from where they were in 2010 simply because they were not subject to the regulations that hobbled Microsoft.
Would they be regulating like this if EU companies were the subject? I doubt it. They’re lousy at even protecting the end customer from the practices of EU companies for the large part. Gaming is the best example of that. Regulation targets the non-EU vendors (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft) and not the developers (most of whom are EU based) who are actually culpable for the issues that require regulatory intervention.
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At this point I could just see Apple pulling out of the EU market. I don’t see why they’d make their own systems worse deliberately, and why they’d want to spend millions on building the rubbish the EU wants them to. It’s not worth it.
And everyone can go and buy Nothing phones. Perfect plan, that I approve of 
…
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And then they can leave every other market once they implement similar regulations!
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Honestly, same. If only because the looming threat of the outrageous fine is larger than their entire annual EU (not Europe) marketshare.
I do think the EU are at odds with what (most of) Apple’s customers actually want from them. Most of those in support (from what I see) are either android users, or would generally be better served by it anyway.
The fact that none of this is actually about the consumer is why I’m so vehemently against it. Imagine google with system level access to your entire iPhone. Meta even. It might give EU companies an advantage against Apple, but it has the side effect of allowing these data guzzlers to exploit too. Facebook already is doing.
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Do you have shares in Nothing? Why would you hope for the seriously blinkered reduction in consumer choice and freedom?
It’s not going to happen. Not if Apple leaves the EU, and not while Trump is president.
I agree. All the calls for this are coming from people with heavy Android bias, or those who want to have deep level access to tinker, for which Android would be much better.
Most people I know with iOS devices just want to turn it on and know that it’s a secure locked garden that offers added convenience.
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I really don’t think this is EU specific. They’re definitely leading here, but many other counties are starting to kick investigations and regulations into gear.
It’s only going to get more and more onerous over time.
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I know, but I hope other regulators approach it with a little more common sense that aren’t simply serving self interests underneath it all.
These things should always only be done in the interests of the consumer, and the EUs approach doesn’t do that.
Calm. It was you who suggested Apple might pull out of the EU. I was simply suggesting a brand that people could purchase instead.
It wasn’t supposed to be taken that seriously 
/s
I only suggested that Apple may choose to withdraw from the EU market due to a highly hostile environment. You welcomed it so that more people will buy cheap Android phones as if you had a stake in it.
There’s no need for tribalism.
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Ok. I can see how maybe it came across as that, however that was not the intention. I was simply just suggesting an alternative (that I use). Sorry for seeming tribalist.
To me it seems the EU have lost the plot with this
and just want apple to be literally like android. The reason I like apple is privacy and security and how all apple stuff integrates.
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I’d bet all those donations from big tech to the Trump inauguration are at least in part to curry favour on the EU issues.
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I think that’s pretty much the main reason. They’ve realised how weak they are against pretty much any government (see Brazil & X) and want Trump to intervene.
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