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In the AI age, the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is failing customers in more than one way


Apple's new Siri, which was just released in iOS 27 and other Apple operating systems, is finally good. My first impressions at least indicate that the LLM (a Google derivative) is now much better at understanding what I mean, and using it feels a bit more like GrokBot or ChatGPT on my phone without the hassle of "onboarding" service providers (Email, Calendar, etc.) because it uses the iPhone’s existing provisioned routes. That’s convenient. But it’s also that convenience that is not compatible with the DMA.

If you live in the EU (the European Union), you will not get the new Siri or have access to it because Apple and the European Commission can't agree on terms for the rollout under the Digital Markets Act. Under the DMA, such functionality—accessing the iPhone’s functionality the way the new Siri can—should be made accessible to third parties. Apple's suggestion was to launch its new Siri and have a "Trusted System Agent" in place within 18 months. Apple argues, rightly in my opinion, that because of security risks, such a system is required if third parties are to gain access to the iPhone's functionality through AI.

The EU rejected that proposal because it sees this more as an 18-month exemption, given that Apple would launch the new Siri right away.

I find the DMA to be very problematic when it comes to safety and security and in this instance, innovation.

1. Apple, as the owner of the whole technology stack, has no intention to harm its customers—I'm not sure this can be said about third-party products and their intent.

2. Even with Apple's proposed Trust framework, how is that being assessed, evaluated, monitored, and, most importantly, ensured that no customer comes to harm? Particularly if, let’s say, a new application promises the world, passes evaluation, and then in the next upgrade executes a bait-and-switch?

3. ChatGPT, Claude, GrokBot, Grok, and many others are already on iOS—if Siri were required to give access to its far better-established competition, it would face a competitive disadvantage for its own service. Apple is fairly late to the game, after all.

The logical conclusion for Apple is simply not to launch the new Siri in the EU unless an agreement can be reached that addresses some of the points I've made. I'm sure there are other points, and in fact, Google is going through something similar.

The idea of the DMA is not wrong at all; it forces platforms to open up access. However, it’s disincentivizing to force companies to open up on day 1 when there is significant competition and, in the case of AI, significant risks to the customer.

The current draconian approach with the DMA has only one loser: the customer.


#Apple #Google #iOS #Anthropic #GrokBot #Claude #ChatGPT
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