The Core of Innovation vs. Regulation: The European Challenge Apple and Meta Face

Anyone interested in the dynamics between technology giants and regulators will be riveted by the developments in what we could call the digital games of regulation. In the spotlight of this particular dramaturgy are two tech giants that are currently preparing for a contest of wills with the European Commission over none other than the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Who will win the negotiation over DMA compliance and why should you care? We’ve untangled the knot to take a look at what both outcomes might mean for the future of digital markets, innovation and consumer choice.

The European Commission's Stance on Digital Markets

A Prelude to Potential Charges

Those who follow the digital world in Europe can feel the palpitations. Reuters and The Financial Times – solid sources – are reporting that the European Commission is about to make a move based on ‘allegations that APPLE and META are breaking their obligations under the DMA by a range of practices’. The practices in question involve competition-stifling and consumer-choice-restricting behaviour.

APPLE's "Steering" Practices Under Scrutiny

At the centre of the Commission’s concerns with APPLE are the so-called ‘steering’ rules that developers must observe. These become relevant when a developer wishes to direct users to a third-party purchase window. There are three broad types of rules that support digital ecosystems. Two of them are easy to defend in any market context. The first type aims to keep out those who pose a threat to security. As we all know, there are devices on sale that run on pirated versions of Windows. They’re cheap, but they also make Windows-based devices vulnerable to all manner of attacks. A digital ecosystem cannot be secure if its distinguishing features – which are arguably more important to its appeal than its price – are available to anyone, regardless of their security practices. The second type of rule restricts access to those who have the ability to help investors recoup their RD. It’s simply not reasonable to expect an RD investor to make a multi-billion-dollar bet on a competitor to their own product who’s using their playbook. That would open the door to free-riding, which in turn puts the investor at a disadvantage. The third type of rule – only one of the three is at issue here – allows the owner of a digital ecosystem to steer users towards other offerings in the ecosystem, which helps to create the expectation of seamless interactions. Yet where is the balance to be struck between facilitating seamless interactions in a secure ecosystem on the one hand, and maintaining an open and competitive market on the other?

META's Timeline for Response

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, META faces regulatory scrutiny over its ad-free subscription models for Facebook and Instagram in the EU. Either way, it serves to spotlight the broader debate over the nature of the value exchange between advertisers, platforms and users.

The Age of Digital Market Regulation

In addition to the latest news about the upcoming preliminary findings, the European Commission’s supervision of digital markets is at a crucial stage of regulatory scrutiny: the so-called ‘dialogue phase’ that seeks to allow the defendants (eg, APPLE and META) to address the Commission’s concerns and, if possible, align their practices to the goals set out by the DMA.

Anticipating APPLE's Moves

In a sense, APPLE, the first to be charged, is at a crossroads where innovation meets the pursuit of consumer protection and regulatory compliance. How it negotiates the Commission’s concerns will not determine merely the future of its European business, but also could influence the shape of digital market governance in years to come.

META's Approach to Compliance

Likewise, META will be able to prove itself – to itself, the Commission, Google and the world – by its handling of the commission’s gaze. The outcome could signal the future of regulations not just in the EU, but for digital privacy and advertising, and even subscription models, worldwide.

Navigating the Future of Digital Innovation

Standing at this fork in the road, it’s worth watching how APPLE and META respond to the demands of the EU Commission – as future corporate direction of digital markets will be shaped, either of a wave in digital innovation with new ways of doing business, or a reckoning of the principles of digital commerce itself.

The Impact on Developers and Consumers

Its significance stretches far beyond the boardrooms of big tech to the lives and livelihoods of developers and consumers. For developers, the outcome could usher in a new era of app development and market access. For consumers, it may represent a new world of choice and liberty about the ways in which they engage with digital services.

The Dawn of a New Digital Era

But however APPLE and META fare through these challenges, the path to greater maturity for the digital era looks clear: it’s one defined by more exacting oversight and regulation – and considerable innovation. The outcomes of these cases could well forge a more open, fair and competitive digital marketplace.

Exploring the APPLE

After all of this, it might be most fitting to consider APPLE not only as a company making headlines in a regulatory firestorm orifying Big Tech’s transgressions, but also as part of the technological history that consistently shakes up our lives and changes our world. From a shift in the balance of cultural power that accompanied the development of the first personal computer, to user expectations in mobile communication and digital services, APPLE’s history parallels and sometimes defines that of personal technology. In light of the regulatory crossroads APPLE finds itself in, it might be worth remembering that it stands for a general technocultural transformation. The evolution of APPLE, and how it deals with the regulatory challenges before it, represents a broader narrative about the tension between innovation and market freedom, on the one hand, and the guardrails that societies use to protect against the corrosive impacts of inequality and other forms of market failure. This chapter will be just one in an ongoing story about the advent of digital technology to transform the way we live, work and interact with each other as part of the global village.