Apple's compliance with the European Union's Digital Markets Act, enacted last year, necessitates allowing competitors and app developers to integrate with its services; failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10% of Apple's global annual revenue.
According to a report, Meta has submitted 15 interoperability requests to date, more than any other entity, seeking extensive access to Apple's technology infrastructure.
Apple expressed concerns, stating, "In many instances, Meta is attempting to modify functionality in ways that raise significant privacy and security issues for users, which seem entirely unrelated to the actual use of Meta's external devices, such as Meta smart glasses and Meta Quest."
The Meta Quest is the company's virtual reality headset, part of its strategy to dominate the computational platform for virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies.
Apple warned that if it were to approve all of Meta's requests, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp could potentially access a user's messages and emails, monitor phone calls, track app usage, scan photos, review files and calendar events, and log passwords, among other sensitive information.
Apple also referenced Meta's history of privacy violations in Europe as a significant concern.
In response, a Meta spokesperson stated, "What Apple is essentially claiming is that they do not support interoperability. Whenever Apple faces scrutiny for its anticompetitive practices, they justify their actions on privacy grounds that lack factual support."
In a related development, the European Commission, which indicated in September that it would clarify how Apple should comply with interoperability requirements, released preliminary findings on the matter late Wednesday, allowing individuals, companies, and organizations until January to respond.
The proposed measures would mandate that Apple deliver a comprehensive outline detailing the various phases, timelines, and the criteria it will utilize in evaluating interoperability requests from app developers.
Additionally, Apple is expected to keep developers informed with regular updates and facilitate a feedback loop concerning the effectiveness of its proposed interoperability solutions. There will also be a fair and unbiased conciliation process to resolve any technical disputes with Apple.
Moreover, the Commission has detailed the actions required of Apple to guarantee that all iOS notification features are accessible to competing devices, including the Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and any forthcoming Apple-connected hardware.
A decision from the EU executive, the competition authority for the 27-member bloc, concerning Apple's compliance with the DMA's interoperability stipulations is expected in March of next year.