EU DMA Enters Into Force, Will Soon Require Apple to Allow Sideloading, Third Party App Stores, More

The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) enters into force today, starting the countdown to when Apple will be required to allow sideloading of apps, third party app stores, outside payment services, and more.

The new Regulation aims to put an end to unfair practices by companies that act as gatekeepers in the online platform economy. It was proposed by the Commission in December 2020 and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in March 2022.

"The DMA will change the digital landscape profoundly," says Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager. "With it, the EU is taking a pro-active approach to ensuring fair, transparent and contestable digital markets. A small number of large companies hold significant market power in their hands. Gatekeepers enjoying an entrenched position in digital markets will have to show that they are competing fairly. We invite all potential gatekeepers, their competitors or consumer organisations, to come and talk to us about how to best implement the DMA."


“If you have an iPhone, you should be able to download apps not just from the App Store but from other app stores or from the internet,” says Gerard de Graaf, a veteran EU official who helped pass the DMA. A wave of lawsuits challenging the rules are expected, but de Graaf says the onus is on companies to fall in line. “The key message is that negotiations are over, we’re in a compliance situation,” de Graaf says. “You may not like it, but that’s the way it is.”

Digital Markets Act (DMA) obligations:
● allow third parties to inter-operate with their own services, meaning that smaller platforms will be able to request that dominant messaging platforms enable their users to exchange messages, send voice messages or files across messaging apps. This will give users greater choice and avoid the so-called “lock-in” effect where they are restricted to one app or platform;
● allow business users to access the data they generate in the gatekeeper’s platform, to promote their own offers and conclude contracts with their customers outside the gatekeeper’s platforms.

Gatekeepers can no longer:
● Rank their own services or products more favourably (self-preferencing) than other third parties on their platforms;
● Prevent users from easily un-installing any pre-loaded software or apps, or using third-party applications and app stores;
● Process users’ personal data for targeted advertising, unless consent is explicitly granted.

Next Steps
With its entry into force, the DMA will move into its crucial implementation phase and start to apply in six months, as of 2 May 2023. After that, within two months and at the latest by 3 July 2023, potential gatekeepers will have to notify their core platform services to the Commission if they meet the thresholds established by the DMA.


Once the Commission has received the complete notification, it will have 45 working days to make an assessment as to whether the undertaking in question meets the thresholds and to designate them as gatekeepers (for the latest possible submission, this would be by 6 September 2023). Following their designation, gatekeepers will have six months to comply with the requirements in the DMA, at the latest by 6 March 2024.

It's unclear if Apple will challenge the EU on the new DMA rules. However, it has indicated that it will comply with the recent EU mandate that all mobile phones use USB-C.

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