The European Commission has published draft proposals for how Apple must meet interoperability requirements flowing from the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), inviting feedback on proposed measures targeted at areas like iOS notifications, data transfer, and device setup by January 9, 2025.

European Union regulators have until around mid-March to adopt final decisions on what measures the bloc will expect Apple to take, and by when, to deliver access for rivals, as the DMA demands.

Apple’s iOS, iPadOS, App Store and Safari web browser are all subject to the regulation, which aims to boost competition by enabling third parties to plug their own services into dominant platforms. But the current interoperability proceedings focus on Apple’s mobile operating systems, iOS and iPadOS.

Back in September, the Commission announced two “specification proceedings” to determine how the interoperability rules should be applied to Apple’s core platforms. On Thursday, it published the preliminary results and kicked off two consultations: One on “proposed measures for interoperability between Apple’s iOS operating system and connected devices,” and a second on “proposed measures for requesting interoperability with Apple’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems.”

Among the requirements are measures intended to achieve “effective interoperability” with iOS Notifications; background execution; automatic audio switching; data transfer features including Wi-Fi connection, AirDrop, AirPlay, wireless file transfer services, and media casting; and features for device-setup and configuration.

The Commission also wants Apple to improve the request-based process it has set up for third parties to seek interoperability with iOS and iPadOS, which the second proceeding deals with.

Proposed measures here include actions that aim to boost transparency around iOS and iPadOS features and functionalities currently reserved for Apple, such as by providing information on libraries, frameworks, and daemons. The Commission also wants support for developers who are interested in interoperability to boost the effectiveness and transparency of the request process itself, as well as futureproofing interoperability through interoperability by design.

Reached for comment, Apple spokesman Tom Parker emailed a five-page report setting out the company’s response to the proposals, in which the company suggests abuse of DMA interoperability requirements could harm users’ privacy, warning: “Data-hungry companies across the globe may weaponize interoperability.”

Apple’s lobbying document also hits out at Meta, specifically, accusing the social media giant of making many and overly broad DMA access requests.

Parker also highlighted the following line: “The magical experiences people love about Apple products are made possible because of the time, talent and capital the company dedicates to creating products that work right out of the box. These processes will hurt innovation — companies should be able to compete with one another to make their own products work together in new ways that benefit users without giving their ideas away to competitors. Apple is the only company being forced to share its innovations in this way with everyone else, including those who do not share its commitment to user privacy.” 

Apple suggested it has often provided developers with access to the same tools in iOS and iPadOS that it has, but argues it’s “incredibly important” for interoperability to be “done in a way that’s right for our users.”

“That is why, every single time we open developer access to functionalities, we give careful thought to how to do it in a way that continues to protect users,” Apple said. “Without the right protections, giving third parties access to parts of users’ devices could open up ways for bad actors to steal or expose their personal information.”

The Commission’s consultation on the first proceeding notes that it’s seeking technical views on the effectiveness of the proposed measures, including effectiveness in practice, completeness, feasibility, and views on its proposed timelines for Apple.

Regarding the second consultation, the EU also wants feedback on timelines and, more broadly, whether the proposed measures achieve their objective, and, if not, how they might be improved.

“The Commission will carefully assess the feedback provided by interested parties and Apple. The input received may result in adjustments to the proposed measures and will feed into the Commission’s decision on the legally binding final measures applying to Apple,” the regulator said.