Paris (AFP)
The draft regulation on digital markets (DMA), which is part of the European Union's plan to regulate the giants of the sector, risks "destroying the security of the iPhone", denounced Wednesday the boss of Apple Tim Cook at the Parisian show for start-ups and Vivatech technology.
Parts of the project currently being discussed in Brussels "are not in the best interests of users. (...) I am very concerned about privacy and security," he said during a discussion organized with the media Brut.
The DMA would force Apple to allow the existence of alternatives to the App Store, now the only app store on Apple devices, and that "would destroy the security of the iPhone and many initiatives. for the privacy that we have developed in the App Store, "especially because the company could no longer control each distributed application," explained Tim Cook.
"We will take part in the debate and I hope that we will find a solution", he added, while acknowledging that there were "good parts" in the draft regulation, in particular the other part of the EU plan specifically for digital services (DSA).
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will impose specific constraints only on so-called "systemic" players, a dozen companies whose omnipotence threatens the free play of competition.
Among them, the Gafam, the 5 digital giants Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft.
These companies will have rules imposed that increase the transparency of their algorithms and limit their use of private data, which is at the heart of their economic model.
They will also have to notify the Commission of any proposed acquisition of a firm in Europe.
Presented in December, the project still has to be negotiated with the European Parliament and the Member States.
Apple is accused of monopolistic behavior by some publishers like Epic (owner of the Fortnite game), Facebook or Spotify, because of its strict rules on the distribution of applications.
© 2021 AFP