Tech Gets Real: Protect Yourself in the AI Era
Jun 9, 2026 · 10 min · 9 segments
Apple is blaming a competition law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for its refusal to roll out the new Siri AI virtual assistant in Europe. Here’s what that’s all about – and this is no clear-cut…
So the Digital Markets Act has been around for a couple of years, and basically, it's an antitrust law of sorts.
And the idea with the Digital Markets Act is that big tech companies have over the years been very good at bundling their services together, making sure that one service that they run benefits another service, locks people into that, steers people towards it, and they've basically made it very hard for new challengers to come up and challenge them.
And one of the first things that happened when the DMA came in was the European Commission forced Apple to allow third-party app stores on iOS, which Apple said was a terrible idea.
And in twenty twenty-four, when it introduced Apple Intelligence, it said that it was delaying it in Europe because of the DMA.
It wasn't very good at explaining exactly what the problem was, but it said that it was, quote, "Concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security." Apple Intelligence did come to the EU last year, but now we're seeing the same story all over again with Siri AI, with Apple claiming that the interoperability requirements of the DMA will force it to compromise people's privacy and security.
Quote, "Under EU regulators' extreme interpretation of the DMA, Apple would have to give any virtual assistant direct access to users' private data and the ability to directly control other installed applications as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU without the essential protections necessary to keep users and their data safe." Continuing the quote here, "According to EU regulators, the DMA requires Apple to give any AI system nearly unlimited access to a user's device, as well as the ability to act on that access autonomously without a user's ongoing visibility and control.
That includes the ability to read and send messages, make purchases, access files, and execute actions across any app." Them's fighting words, but that's only Apple's side of the dispute.
And according to the European Commission, Apple basically came to it asking for a total exemption from the DMA rules.
So the Digital Markets Act has been around for a couple of years, and basically, it's an antitrust law of sorts.
And the idea with the Digital Markets Act is that big tech companies have over the years been very good at bundling their services together, making sure that one service that they run benefits another service, locks people into that, steers people towards it, and they've basically made it very hard for new challengers to come up and challenge them.
And one of the first things that happened when the DMA came in was the European Commission forced Apple to allow third-party app stores on iOS, which Apple said was a terrible idea.
And in twenty twenty-four, when it introduced Apple Intelligence, it said that it was delaying it in Europe because of the DMA.
It wasn't very good at explaining exactly what the problem was, but it said that it was, quote, "Concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security." Apple Intelligence did come to the EU last year, but now we're seeing the same story all over again with Siri AI, with Apple claiming that the interoperability requirements of the DMA will force it to compromise people's privacy and security.
Quote, "Under EU regulators' extreme interpretation of the DMA, Apple would have to give any virtual assistant direct access to users' private data and the ability to directly control other installed applications as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU without the essential protections necessary to keep users and their data safe." Continuing the quote here, "According to EU regulators, the DMA requires Apple to give any AI system nearly unlimited access to a user's device, as well as the ability to act on that access autonomously without a user's ongoing visibility and control.
That includes the ability to read and send messages, make purchases, access files, and execute actions across any app." Them's fighting words, but that's only Apple's side of the dispute.
And according to the European Commission, Apple basically came to it asking for a total exemption from the DMA rules.
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