On February 27th, Daniel Ek, the Chief Executive Officer of Spotify, the world's leading streaming music service platform, once again pointed his finger at Apple, publicly criticizing its compliance with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Ek bluntly stated in a public event that Apple's compliance with the DMA was simply a "farce," accusing it of employing "delay and obstruction" tactics to deal with this new regulation aimed at promoting fair competition in the digital market.
Ek's remarks were not unfounded. Since the DMA took effect, the European Union has been closely monitoring the compliance of major technology giants, especially Apple. Previously, Teresa Ribera, the European Union's Competition Commissioner, had expressed strong dissatisfaction with Apple's initial compliance with the DMA. She pointed out that Apple had failed to fully fulfill its obligations under the DMA in several areas, including restrictions on app distribution, in-app payment systems, and access to user data.
In response to the European Union's questions, Apple did not immediately respond positively. On the contrary, Ek believed that Apple had adopted various strategies to delay and obstruct the implementation of the DMA. He pointed out that Apple had been insufficiently proactive in responding to the European Union's compliance requirements and had even taken an evasive and resistant attitude in some cases. This attitude not only harmed the fair competition environment of the European Union's digital market but also severely hindered the innovative development of other technology companies.
To maintain fair competition in the market and protect consumer rights, Ek urged European Union regulators to take decisive action against Apple. He suggested that the European Union strengthen its supervision of Apple to ensure its strict compliance with the provisions of the DMA. At the same time, Ek also stated that Spotify would continue to cooperate closely with European Union regulators to jointly promote the healthy development of the digital market.
It is worth mentioning that the European Union's ruling on Apple's DMA compliance is imminent. According to European Union regulations, Teresa Ribera has the right to make a final ruling on Apple's DMA compliance by the end of March. If Apple fails to pass the compliance review, the European Union will have the power to impose fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue. This will undoubtedly exert enormous economic pressure on Apple and force it to take the DMA compliance issue more seriously.
However, in response to Ek's accusations and the regulatory pressure from the European Union, Apple has not shown too much concern. On the contrary, Apple has stated that it will continue to adhere to its position and principles and actively respond to the European Union's compliance requirements. They emphasized that Apple has always been committed to providing users with high-quality products and services and is willing to compete fairly with other technology companies while complying with laws and regulations
