Apple faults Meta for interoperability requests

In an online paper, Apple late Wednesday said that it is concerned about companies that may “attempt to abuse” the EU’s new Digital Markets Act to access sensitive user data.

It said Meta had made 15 requests to access Apple’s technology stack that would reduce protections around personal data on the company’s devices. “No company has made more interoperability requests of Apple than Meta,” the iPhone maker said.

“If Apple were to have to grant all of these requests, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp could enable Meta to read on a user’s device all of their messages and emails, see every phone call they make or receive, track every app that they use, scan all of their photos, look at their files and calendar events, log all of their passwords, and more,” Apple said.

Meta had sought access to technologies including iPhone mirroring, AirPlay, devices connected with Bluetooth and connectivity to all of a user’s Apple devices, Apple said.

In a social-media post on X, Andy Stone, a Meta spokesman, responded, “What Apple is actually saying…is they just don’t believe in interoperability.” He added: “Every time Apple is called out for anticompetitive behavior, they defend themselves on privacy grounds that have no basis in reality.”

The EU’s Digital Markets Act took effect earlier this year with the aim of boosting competition in digital advertising, online search and app ecosystems.

The EU’s executive arm late Wednesday proposed measures for Apple to adopt to ensure its operating systems are functional with other technologies. It proposed that Apple features such as iOS notifications and AirDrop file transfer be open to third-party developers.

Solutions provided “will have to be equally effective to those available to Apple and must not require more cumbersome system settings or additional user friction,” it said.

The measures are preliminary, subject to feedback from third parties and Apple, the commission said.

The proposed measures stem from proceedings earlier this year designed to provide Apple with guidance to comply with the DMA.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com