The Facebook app is displayed on the screen of an iPhone.
Fabian Sommer | photo alliance | Getty Images
LONDON – Facebook accused Apple of using its power to “harm developers and consumers” as it welcomed the draft laws of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm.
The new laws announced Tuesday – known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) – are designed to keep the tech giants in check. The DMA introduces rules for platforms acting as “gatekeepers” in the digital sector, while the DSA is designed to tackle illegal and harmful content by asking platforms to remove it quickly.
“We hope the DMA will also set limits on Apple,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement shared with CNBC. “Apple operates an entire ecosystem from device to app store and apps, using this power to harm developers and consumers, as well as major platforms such as Facebook.”
Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The European Commission said it could fine gatekeepers up to 10% of their total global annual turnover if they break the proposed rules. For Apple, that would be about $ 26 billion.
Apple and Facebook have had a falling out since Apple announced a privacy tool that allows users to prevent advertisers from tracking them across different apps.
When the feature was announced, Facebook, which makes money from selling ads, claimed it would harm developers. Apple replied, “When invasive tracking is your business model, you tend not to welcome transparency and customer choice.”
Mixed reactions
Facebook, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has spent years trying to keep misinformation, hate speech and extremist content off its platforms. However, it said in general that it welcomed “harmonized EU rules”.
The proposed laws, which have yet to be approved by the European Parliament before passing, were welcomed by other tech companies such as Spotify, which filed an antitrust suit against Apple in March 2019, saying Apple Music has an ‘unfair advantage’ compared to rivals. .
“The DMA is an important step towards greater innovation and fair-trade competition in the European market,” said Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify’s chief of global affairs and chief legal officer. “There is now a global consensus that major gatekeeper platforms are using their power in ways that slow innovation and harm consumers, and that regulation is needed to prevent harm before it becomes irreparable.”
TikTok, which has also been criticized for hosting questionable content on its platform, also welcomed the rules. Caroline Greer, director of government relations and public policy for TikTok in Brussels, said: “It is clear that platforms play an important role in society and it is good that they are transparent and held accountable.”
Sinéad McSweeney, VP of Public Policy for Twitter EMEA, said her company welcomed the publication of the acts and said they come at a “critical political moment” in Europe and around the world.
Google, which has been accused of destroying companies in other industries and hosting questionable material on YouTube, was less positive about the new legislation.
Karan Bhatia, Google’s vice president for government affairs and public policy, said, “We are concerned that they appear to be targeting specifically a handful of companies and making it more difficult to develop new products to support small businesses in Europe.”
Bhatia added: “We will continue to advocate for new rules that support innovation, increase accountability and promote economic recovery to the benefit of European consumers and businesses.”
Amazon, which contributed to the demise of some brick-and-mortar stores, declined to comment, instead pointing to a blog post by Xavier Garambois, Amazon’s vice president for EU retail, outlining the company’s overall position.
“We share the European Commission’s ambition to remove barriers so that consumers and businesses of all sizes can take full advantage of the European internal market,” reads the blog published on December 3.
“It is in the interest of European consumers that… policies continue to allow for creativity, while ensuring that all businesses apply the same rules.”