Apple’s iPad caught in EU’s crosshairs as it clamps down on ‘gatekeepers’

• The EU has given  Apple six months to ensure its iPadOS complies with the Digital Markets Act. 
• The European Commission said users are “locked in” to iPadOS and it’s hard for them to switch.
• It comes as a part of a broader crackdown on “gatekeepers” and a market investigation into Apple. 

Apple has a new headache to deal with in the EU.

The European Commission on Monday put the tech giant on notice to ensure its iPad operating system adheres to Digital markets Act rules within six months.

The DMA was designed to ensure fairness and healthy competition in the digital landscape and hold Big Tech “gatekeepers” accountable.

It believes that one way of doing so is by probing Apple’s iPadOS through the lens of the DMA. Apple has its work cut out for it.

Some of the changes it will have to make to become compliant with its rules include letting iPad users remove apps that came pre-installed on the device and allowing them to download apps from other app stores.

The move comes amid a broader crackdown on companies that the EU describes as gatekeepers. It follows the commission’s decision to open a market investigation in September to review whether Apple’s iPadOS meets its DMA requirements, which came into effect last month.

In September, the EU Commission designated Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft gatekeepers. This was determined based on several factors, including their economic position, how they act as intermediaries, and their long-maintained dominant positions in their respective markets.

The EU said Monday that its iPadOS investigation found it has “features of a gatekeeper.” It said the number of Apple’s business users is close to the threshold and that they are “locked in” to iPadOS as the firm disincentivizes users from switching to other tablets’ operating systems.

Margrethe Vestager, who leads competition policy at the commission, said in a press release, “Our market investigation showed that despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers.”

One condition under the DMA is that companies are barred from self-preferencing. This means that Apple legally can’t favor its own products and services over its competitors through its platforms. Instead, firms such as Apple must let app developers “steer” consumers to offers outside its own App Store.

Last month, the commission hit Apple with a fine of nearly $2 billion after it found the firm had restricted app developers from informing users about other, cheaper music services. Apple said it would appeal the decision.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.