Apple again criticized the European Union's digital competition law, saying it could put users at risk of fraud.
Apple on the 6th (local time) sent a letter to the European Commission (EC), saying, "We believe it is inconsistent that the Commission's enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) has in fact weakened Apple's ability to protect users."
In the letter, Apple noted that the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), fully implemented in March last year, forces it to guarantee consolidation from apps to external websites or other apps without meaningful safeguards inside the app.
Apple emphasized, "In iOS's 17 years of operational history, there has not been a single large-scale malware attack targeting consumers, an unprecedented security achievement among modern operating systems."
It continued, "However, the Commission is forcing Apple to be unable to maintain this proven security approach, while at the same time prohibiting the introduction of core safeguards that protect iOS users more safely than any other platform. If these protections are removed, the risks faced by Apple device users will inevitably increase."
Apple said, "Even with our best efforts, the risks that child users will face on Apple's platform will inevitably increase," and added, "We are concerned that this investigation may in effect be a somewhat cynical attempt to divert attention from the fundamental problems caused by the Commission's misguided DMA enforcement."
This letter was sent as a reply to the European Commission's inquiry last month asking whether Apple had prepared safeguards for minors under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The EU's DMA is a law that designates companies above a certain size as "gatekeepers" and imposes special regulations to prevent abuse of market dominance by large platform operators.
The companies currently designated as gatekeepers number seven, including Apple, and if they are found to have violated the DMA in the designated institutional sector, they must pay up to 10% of their global revenue as a penalty surcharge.
In April last year, Apple was imposed a penalty surcharge of 500 million euros (about 800 billion won) following the European Commission's conclusion that it violated the DMA.
Since then, while maintaining a critical stance on the law, Apple adjusted its rules to allow external payment options for in-app purchases. It also revised App Store rules, lowering the fees charged to developers from up to 30% to up to 15%.
However, among the seven companies designated as gatekeepers under the DMA, five companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft) are U.S. technology giants, except ByteDance (China) and Booking.com (Netherlands), and the DMV is fueling trade tensions between the United States and Europe.