On Wednesday, EU antitrust authorities directed Apple to grant rivals access to its ecosystem, providing specific instructions on how to comply with the bloc’s regulations. They also warned that failure to adhere could trigger an investigation and penalties. This decision from the European Commission follows six months after it initiated specification proceedings to enforce Apple’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Per the Commission’s orders, device makers and app developers should gain access to nine iOS connectivity features previously reserved solely for Apple, including peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, NFC capabilities, and device pairing. This could allow Google to integrate AirDrop functionality with Android devices. Similarly, headphone manufacturers might leverage this order to enable SharePlay support, a feature currently exclusive to AirPods.…

China’s antitrust regulator is preparing for a possible investigation into Apple’s App Store developer fees and policies, amid a wider initiative by Beijing that could escalate tensions in the ongoing trade conflict with the United States. Pei Li for Bloomberg News: ‎ The State Administration for Market Regulation is examining Apple’s policies, which include taking a cut of as much as 30% on in-app spending and barring external payment services and stores, people familiar with the matter said. Agency officials have spoken with Apple executives and app developers since last year, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive moves. The conversations stem from long-running disputes between Apple and developers such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd.…

Apple is attempting to defend its lucrative $20-billion-plus search engine agreement with Google amid Google’s antitrust lawsuit, but the courts are not amenable. Recently, Apple requested an emergency stay to allow time for intervention in the legal proceedings, but the presiding judge rejected Apple’s motion, opting not to delay the case. Juli Clover for MacRumors: ‎ In November, Apple asked the court to allow it to be more involved in the case as the court decides what steps to take to prevent Google from continuing to violate antitrust law. The court said no, so Apple appealed the ruling, but it will take time for the appeals process to play out. While it waits on an appeal, Apple wanted the court…

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta denied Apple’s emergency request to halt the Google Search monopoly trial that could dismantle their lucrative search that’s reportedly worth as much as $18 billion a year. The order came in late Sunday, with Judge Mehta saying Apple hasn’t demonstrated satisfactory reasons for its emergency motion to stay that was filed on January 30th. Apple said last week that it needs to be involved in the Google trial because it does not want to lose “the ability to defend its right to reach other arrangements with Google that could benefit millions of users and Apple’s entitlement to compensation for distributing Google search to its users.” The remedies phase of the trial is set for…

Apple wants to ensure it has a voice in the remedies trial for the Justice Department’s search monopolization case against Google, and filed an emergency motion to stay the proceedings while it appeals the district court’s denial of its request to be more directly heard in the case. The remedies phase of the trial is set to begin in April, since US District Court Judge Amit Mehta already found Google liable for illegal monopolization in the general search market. Even though Apple is not technically a party in the case, it has played a significant role in it — the billions of dollars Google pays Apple each year for default placement on iOS helped convinced Mehta of Google’s monopoly power.…

Apple Store Rosenstraße in Munich, Germany German federal judges on Tuesday seemed that they might support the country’s antitrust regulator in its legal dispute with Apple. This came after more than three hours of discussions on whether the U.S. tech giant should face additional regulations. Reuters: ‎ The German cartel office said in April 2023 it considered Apple a “company of paramount cross-market significance for competition”, opening the door to possible measures curbing its dominance. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, presiding judge on the panel assessing Apple’s appeal against the designation, said an overall assessment had shown it could be true that Apple has such significance across markets. However, the Federal Court of Justice held off on handing down a ruling on Tuesday,…