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Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

ca.finance.yahoo.com

171–180 of 635 posts

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#171
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post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spotify conveniently falls outside of the scope of this law when any artist would tell you it should absolutely be covered. The DMA is gerrymandered to exclude domestic businesses. Whenever the EU faces budget shortfalls, they know they can just make up some bullshit law and fine US tech. > EU are basically enforcing market capitalism by disallowing monopolistic practices. Users are free to just not buy iOS devices.…

> Whenever the EU faces budget shortfalls, they know they can just make up some bullshit law and fine US tech. If that would be the case, the EU could be drowning in money by being more aggressive with GDPR enforcement and follow-through.

500 million sounds like a lot but that is just a drop in the ocean for first world nation states. The Netherlands has a yearly budget of 300 billion for example.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#172
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post #84

The EU is using populist claims to introduce laws with ideological bias (big corp bad, America bad, America corp super bad). Everyone knows the digital act was never meant to be a fair set of rules, it was introduced to punish US companies at will. At the same time, most governments, public offices, agencies and businesses in Europe would not be able to operate normally without access to American software. The proble…

The real problem was that Silicon Valley was flooded with capital and bought out all competitors. Or undercut with free. Or all kinds of other Microsoftlike practices. So nobody was left in the EU to advocate for better rules.

If that is true, how come new competitors spring up all the time in Silicon Valley and other places in the US while the European sector lies dormant?

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#173
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is: 1. Not about any monopoly (in fact the word "monopoly" does not appear in the press release at all). 2. Nothing like McDonalds, whose business model is completely different from an app store's. 3. Not about Apple can do to consumers who aren't in the Apple ecosystem but about what it can do to developers who wish to sell their applications and services for Apple devices. If you really insist on making an ana…

> If you really insist on making an analogy that involves McDonalds: that's like arguing that McDonalds should not be allowed to prevent Coca-Cola from telling Coca-Cola customers that they can buy Coca-Cola in places other than McDonalds. Which, yeah, they're not allowed to. Neither the App Stores or McDonalds have any control over what you do outside of them. That's your problem, individually and collectively.

> [the App Stores does not] any control over what you do outside of them

Well, we are talking about Apple's App Store, not just an App Store, and in that case, it's Apple. So, Apple wants to exert control over what you as an app developer do outside of the App Store. That's the problem. The fact that you think that's not happening means you know it's wrong.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#174
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except Apple tried to exert control over that, which is exactly what they got fined for, because it's illegal.

They did the equivalent of saying to Coca Cola if you discover a customer via the App Store then we get a cut of it, which is a very normal and common arrangement, even if disagreeable.

Nope. That's a lie. You're a liar. They didn't start out like that all, and to pretend otherwise is lying.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#175
post #137
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how your comment is adding value to the discussion besides claiming emotionality and an absurd reference to FOX news, which implies that my opinions are not welcome here and I should go elsewhere with them. My post is my opinion, offering an entry point for a discussion to those who might have a different opinion from mine.

The opinion is so detached from reality that it’s not going to result in a useful discussion. There’s nothing about America in the consumer protection laws. It doesn’t matter if the service provider is a corporation or a non profit. You can have any opinion you want but if you don’t ensure the quality of it, people will call it out for what it is. In some circles you can defend lack of intellectual rigor with „any op…

> The opinion is so detached from reality that it’s not going to result in a useful discussion.

Maybe you should try.

> There’s nothing about America in the consumer protection laws. It doesn’t matter if the service provider is a corporation or a non profit.

Thierry Breton and his "the sheriff is in town". Jean-Noël Barrot: "Apply with the Greatest Firmness"

Axel Voss, German MEP, called for the EU to use the DSA against (what he calls) fake news and platform owners like Elon Musk interfering in elections. This explicitly links the DSA to regulating US tech companies (particularly X).

Pedro Sánchez (Spanish Prime Minister) proposed using the DSA to regulate social media, fight bots, fake profiles, and go after tech barons undermining democracy - US platforms, of course.

You may agree or disagree with my views being right or wrong, but it is clear that the leitmotif seems to be EU politics vs US big tech here.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is like arguing McDonalds has a monopoly over food sold in McDonalds outlets, when you have a choice to not go into McDonalds.

The whole point of the DMA is clarifying that from the point of view of the European Union, operating a digital market on a platform is not actually like going to a McDonalds. There is no argument to be made by analogy here. The DMA always was clear regarding what constitutes a digital market and what the obligations of the companies operating them would be. If Apple is unhappy about that, they are free to stop opera…

The EU would have a lot more sympathy for this if there were any non trivial digital markets that originated in the EU, with the closest being Spotify, which they somehow claim is not a gatekeeper in the music industry.

They aren't being a decent regulatory body on this one, given they have not reflected on why they are in this position, nor are they being fair with applying their rules. (The same comment can be made about the ludicrous variation in applying the GDPR).

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#177
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except Apple tried to exert control over that, which is exactly what they got fined for, because it's illegal.

They did the equivalent of saying to Coca Cola if you discover a customer via the App Store then we get a cut of it, which is a very normal and common arrangement, even if disagreeable.

No, they did the equivalent of saying to Coca-Cola if you discover a customer via the App Store then you cannot tell them they can buy Coca-Cola from outside the App Store, too, a decidedly anti-competitive practice that also happens to be illegal in just about every European country, even without EU intervention.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#178
post #2

Ah, they said the T-word, presumably to invoke some political fire support from across the Atlantic. I wonder how that will go. Of course, this is not a tariff, for two reasons: firstly, it does not involve money (the UK's digital services tax does, but that's not this), and secondly, the same rules would apply to EU native competitors .. if there were any. It's what's knows as a "non tariff trade barrier". Of course…

I'm a bit surprised usage was ever that high; that would imply that almost 10% of the population was using _Facebook Marketplace_! I think I've looked at it maybe twice since it launched, to admire all the weird scams. Maybe it's gotten better since? It used to be sub-ebay levels of complete nonsense.

Facebook Marketplace is extremely popular depending on the city you’re in.

It has taken the place of Craigslist for younger generations.

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most companies in the world do exactly that. Prove me wrong.

Thanks for proving my point that they need more taxation.

Are you saying that if a business (or individual) wants to pay the lowest tax possible (legally, that is) it should be a reason for more taxation? Is that what taxation is about, revenge?

Re: Apple and Meta fined millions for breaching EU law

#180
post #169
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't Americans always going on about free speech?

Just never in a logically consistent manner.

and usually in a context where the concept they are thinking of (the constitution) doesn't apply (anywhere that isn't the government)
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