BRUSSELS – Today, the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) released the following statement after Apple repeatedly dodged questions during a Digital Markets Act (DMA) Compliance Workshop hosted by the European Commission.
“Apple’s so-called compliance plan falls well short of the letter and the spirit of the DMA. Their comments at the workshop demonstrated they will continue to defy the DMA, have no intent to comply with the law, and will not meaningfully stop their practices that stifle competition in the EU,” said Rick VanMeter, Executive Director of the Coalition for App Fairness. “Apple evaded questions about how their compliance plans would work and the new fees and restrictions they are imposing on developers and consumers. Rather than directly answering questions from concerned developers, Apple instead repeated their same old tired, vague talking points to obscure and deflect, which only validated developers’ concerns that Apple will not open up the App Store. Apple is mocking European businesses and consumers, and their sham compliance cannot stand.”
“Apple’s response during the workshop can be described as an act of defiance against the European Parliament and the European Commission, who have made it clear how gatekeepers like Apple should behave in their jurisdiction,” said Gene Burrus, Global Policy Counsel for the Coalition for App Fairness. “We urge the Commission to move as quickly as possible to make sure that Apple is forced to comply or suffer the consequences of non-compliance.”
CAF examined how Apple’s sham compliance plan fails to comply with the spirit and letter of DMA. Learn more here.
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The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Life360, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to 80 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.