Break Out Your Tiny Violins: Zuckerberg Thinks Apple’s DMA Compliance Plans Are ‘Onerous’

Sarah Perez, reporting for TechCrunch:

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has added his voice to those criticizing Apple’s compliance with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation, which forces Apple to open up its App Store and allow developers to use their own payment systems, among other things. During Meta’s Q4 earnings call this afternoon, Zuckerberg responded to an investor question asking for Meta’s thoughts on the DMA by saying Apple’s new rules were “so onerous” that he would be surprised if any developer adopted them. [...]

“I don’t think that the Apple thing is going to have any difference for us because I think that the way that they’ve implemented it, I would be very surprised if any developer chose to go into the alternative app stores that they have,” Zuckerberg told investors. “They’ve made it so onerous, and I think, so at odds with the intent of what the EU regulation was that I think it’s just going to be very difficult for anyone — including ourselves — to really seriously entertain what they’re doing there.”

Left unsaid is what Zuckerberg thinks the intent of the DMA is. I, for one, do not think it was “Make Meta very happy.” Keep in mind that Apple has broken no laws, and the DMA is, ostensibly, not a penalty targeting Apple specifically.

Also keep in mind that Meta charges a 47.5 percent commission for digital content sales in Horizon Worlds, its “metaverse” platform for its VR headsets.

★ Saturday, 3 February 2024