According to Spotify, Apple’s DMA compliance should include these changes

As European Union officials work to implement the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which officially came into effect last fall, the European Commission today held a stakeholder workshop to seek views on the “app store provisions.” Spotify was one of the panelists and shared three changes it feels Apple is being forced to make in the EU.

In particular, Gene Burrus, Spotify’s director of global competition policy, spoke at the European Commission’s panel on “Giving app developers choice: how to enforce rules around in-app payment systems, governance and consumption-only apps?”

In light of these issues, Spotify’s Burrus highlighted two key changes he believes the DMA will need to force Apple to comply with:

• Enable an alternative option for in-app purchases on iOS
• It allows developers/companies to communicate directly with consumers

Spotify bases this statement’s conclusion on the DMA:

The gatekeeper may not require end users to use, offer, or cooperate with an identification service, web browser engine, or payment service, or technical services supporting the provision of payment services, such as payment systems for the respective gatekeeper’s in-app purchases within the framework of services provided by business users using the respective gatekeeper’s core platform services.

These two changes would solve the problems that Spotify has with the so-called 30% “Apple tax” and “Apple suppression”.

And another step Spotify wants the European Commission to take on DMA is to “prevent Apple from favoring its own services.”

This would be more complicated than the former, as Spotify wants the DMA to regulate how Apple’s App Store works, such as changing the process of approving third-party app updates.

Apple’s opinion

Another part of the DMA could force Apple to open up iOS to third-party app stores.

He was an Apple representative at the Stakeholder Workshop, speaking on “Promoting Competitiveness: Web-Based Applications, Pageloading, and Alternative App Stores – Compliance Models.”

Not surprisingly, Apple’s position here has not changed. He believes that a closed App Store model is the best approach for security and privacy.

However, Apple admitted at the European Commission event that it will have a legal obligation to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

Meanwhile, Spotify and others have shared conflicting beliefs that Apple does not have the monopoly on offering security and privacy to its customers. And that it is better if everyone encourages more competition.