on tuesday, italy’s competition regulator officially launched a special investigation into apple, focusing on whether the company is fully complying with the mandatory interoperability obligations set forth in the eu digital markets act (dma). under this regulation, apple is required to open up key technical interfaces within ios and ipados to third-party consumer cloud service providers, ensuring they can access and utilize underlying hardware and software functionalities—on par with icloud—at no cost and with high efficiency, thereby achieving truly fair technological integration.
in its announcement, the regulator noted that existing evidence indicates external cloud service providers face significant difficulties in obtaining system-level access comparable to icloud—they are unable to invoke the same system components used internally by apple, nor have they been granted equivalent levels of technical support and interface permissions, effectively placing them at a structural disadvantage.
this action marks italy’s first preliminary enforcement investigation conducted under the authority of the dma, highlighting the proactive role played by member-state regulators in implementing the eu’s unified digital rules. the findings of the investigation will be compiled and submitted to the european commission, serving as an important basis for any further measures that may be taken.
