Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#141

Post by simjnd » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC

jandrewrogers wrote: post #79

I understand Apple's position on this one. This is essentially a backdoor into all of your data. It is also a very useful feature. The EU regulators are disallowing guardrails without which this backdoor will be used to strip-mine people's personal data. The privacy implications are not legible to most people. If I was more cynical I would suggest that this is being used as an end-run around encryption, since the enc…

It would only be a backdoor if it's implemented as a backdoor.

The way Apple Health exchanges data with 3rd-party trackers (Fitbit, Garmin, etc.) is very well built and a good model of how other components in iOS could allow data exchange with very granular permissions.

Apple touts the "Private Cloud Compute". If they found a way to share your personal context to process on their cloud in a private and anonymized way, there is no reason the same process couldn't be used to handoff data to a 3rd party AI provider.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#142

Post by jefftk » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #93

afavour wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me that reads as an even greater reason not to delay it. If you knew the restrictions day one you’d be able to engineer the system to accommodate them. Waiting until post launch now means a massive amount of re-engineering. I know it’s not quite as simple as that but I do think it shows Apple are more interested in blaming the EU than reducing the potential issues ahead of time.

> If you knew the restrictions day one you’d be able to engineer the system to accommodate them This slows down deploying the system globally. Particularly if the target is moving, it may make sense to build lightly so one can pivot, and then build in the compliance stuff after you know you have a winning configuration. The EU has its laws. Apple has its strategy. The only thing I fault anyone on is the public bicker…

Laws and strategy are not fixed, and public bickering is part of how they get optimized.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#143

Post by epolanski » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC

krzyk wrote: post #120

dktp wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not fully true. Lots of things get to Europe later (Gemini memories, though we have them now, Spark as latest noteworthy) Or never. Like the majority of Pixel 10 on device AI features (image editing, magic cue).

Some features don't land in Europe because US companies can't handle the amount of languages. For them it is English and maybe Spanish or Chinese because they don't care how heybmake money.

Nonsense, Google is among the most aggressive when it comes to localization to the point of being oblivious.

I have not been able to switch language in Sheets since 2018, and I've changed any possible setting (even account language).

All guides are in English and I'm stuck with Sheets in Italian.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#144

Post by simjnd » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:57 PM UTC

naturalmovement wrote: post #133

What is the countdown to Germans outraged when someone from outside the EU is walking down the street and catches a fleeting audio clip of them which is processed by Apple's AI? Does this mean the service will not be available to EU accounts , or will they geoblock access from within the EU altogether?

It's a geoblock. EU accounts can use the features when outside of the EU.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#145

Post by callc » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:57 PM UTC

nsikorr wrote: post #30

Good for the total of eight users that will then use an alternative agent once it landed. Similar to the twelve people that use alternative app stores.

Why make fun of freedom?

Have some dignity. We all deserve the right to fully own our general compute devices.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#146

Post by s1artibartfast » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:57 PM UTC

bflesch wrote: post #96

Aurornis wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple claims to protect user privacy all the time. But they can't offer a product in a major jurisdiction that has actually meaningful privacy laws? Didn't they consider that while designing the product? Complying with complex privacy laws is surprisingly orthogonal to making a product with good privacy. In another regulatory area (not privacy, but something more historically regulated) we ran into strange situatio…

Privacy laws are not complex, they only become complex if your goal is to actually skirt them. Tax laws are also quite easy, tax lawyers are only needed if you want to NOT pay what the country you're operating in is owed.

would you say civil engineers are only required if you want to skirt building codes?

Someone has to understand the codes and how they might be applied to a specific project, and direct a project such that the outcome will comply.

Codes dont provide a blueprint for a house or a bridge. They stipulate features and properties that it must have. Design resides with the firm.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#147

Post by rock_artist » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

necovek wrote: post #107

bnj wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I follow the situation, it seems that regulatory uncertainty is a major issue though- the EU’s requirements are framed in terms of outcomes sought, rather than in terms that can be quantitatively shown as met or broken. So it’s not a matter of dedicating a team to meet a list of requirements, but instead navigating the worst case scenario of enforcement if post-launch the EU determines that the proscribed outcomes…

In this case it looks much simpler: Apple strictly does not want to open up the iOS platform to other competing agents, as they lose the monopolistic moat if they do. While making a true developer platform with good documentation is often hard and expensive, with the market access they'd get, companies would gladly jump on it even if it was badly documented as long as they have guarantees of continued legal access. A…

> imagine EU iPhones being imported into US to use with OpenAI or Claude Cowork

That's not the case. it's merely software (exactly like my iPhone 16 lacking the promised AI features claimed at WWDC24).

Anyway as I'm now within the EU with phone I bought before moving to the EU, regional features (or restrictions) depends on the logged in account and device regional settings. Except physical considerations (eSIM design, actual radio transceivers). The hardware is the same thank god.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#148

Post by epolanski » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

yandie wrote: post #75

epolanski wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet Gemini had no issues to comply with EU's DMA and release on all phones? Let's call it how it is: Android phones allow every competitor to run their chatbot in place of Gemini. Want Perplexity instead of Gemini? You can have it. Samsung launches with Perplexity as of late. Apple? As always, went into "ay mate, too integrated, can't give the same APIs to competitors" lame excuse.

Appples architecture prevents them from seeing customers data (see Private Cloud Compute documentation). Data that Gemini Assistant (not referring to the distilled version Apple uses) see goes straight to Google. Big difference here. Weird to say it but the only assistant with any guarantee for privacy by design is Siri at the moment.

What is the source of this claim that this is the reason?

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#149

Post by simjnd » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

nsikorr wrote: post #30

Good for the total of eight users that will then use an alternative agent once it landed. Similar to the twelve people that use alternative app stores.

AltStore is hugely popular, and that is DESPITE Apple going out of their way to scare people into using the App Store.

Re: Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption

#150

Post by giobox » Tue, Jun 09, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

cced wrote: post #4

Does this affect users that have a primary address in the EU or anyone with a phone that is _in_ the EU?

The APIs in iOS that turn feature flags on/off as you travel now have gotten insanely complex. Some are on time triggers, some change instantly, some depend on where your iCloud account was setup, AFAIK there isn't a black and white answer as to what happens when you move a non-EU iPhone through Europe anymore, "it depends". It's similarly vague in the other direction.

Apple themselves have claimed recent EU compliance has led to over 600 new or changed APIs in the OS.

I've spent a fair amount of time with my iPhone in both the EU and the USA, have local cell service registered in both regions. its nothing as simple as a geo-location check anymore. It's a problem that has grown more complex over the decades too, as more and more countries implement their own slightly differing legislation.