Linked List: July 7, 2025

Monday, 7 July 2025

Apple, as Promised, Formally Appeals €500 Million DMA Fine in the EU ★

Here’s the full statement, given by Apple to the media, including Daring Fireball:

“Today we filed our appeal because we believe the European Commission’s decision — and their unprecedented fine — go far beyond what the law requires. As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users. We implemented this to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the Court.”

Everyone — including, I believe, at Apple — agrees that the policy changes Apple announced at the end of June are confusing and seemingly incomplete in terms of fee structures. What Apple is saying here in this statement is they needed to launch these policy changes now, before the full fee implications are worked out, to avoid the daily fines they were set to be penalized with for the steering rules.

Chance Miller, reporting for 9to5Mac:

Apple also reiterates that the EU has continuously redefined what exactly it needs to do under the DMA. In particular, Apple says the European Commission has expanded the definition of steering. Apple adjusted its guidelines to allow EU developers to link out to external payment methods and use alternative in-app payment methods last year. Now, however, Apple says the EU has redefined steering to include promotions of in-app alternative payment options and in-app webviews, as well as linking to other alternative app marketplaces and the third-party apps distributed through those marketplaces.

Furthermore, Apple says that the EU mandated that the Store Services Fee include multiple tiers. [...] You can view the full breakdown of the two tiers on Apple’s developer website. Apple says that it was the EU who dictated which features should be included in which tier. For example, the EU mandated that Apple move app discovery features to the second tier.

Like I wrote last week, “byzantine compliance with a byzantine law”.

‘F1’ Is Doing Well at the Box Office, and Is Now Already Apple’s Top-Grossing Theatrical Film ★

Rebecca Rubin, reporting for Variety:

When it comes to Apple’s biggest films, F1: The Movie has officially moved to pole position.

I will allow this pun.

F1 has generated $293 million at the global box office after 10 days of release, overtaking the entire theatrical runs of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon ($158 million worldwide) and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon ($221 million) to stand as Apple’s highest-grossing movie to date. That’s not a particularly difficult benchmark to break, since Apple has only released five films theatrically and two of them, Fly Me to the Moon ($42 million) and Argylle ($96 million), were outright flops.

Not to mention that Wolfs, last year’s crime caper starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, was supposed to get a theatrical release but didn’t, leading to bad feelings and, later, a cancelled sequel. Wolfs wasn’t bad. I’d say it was decent. Critics seem to agree. But with Clooney and Pitt starring and Watts at the helm, it felt like a movie that should have at least been pretty damn good. And it wasn’t.

So it’s not just that F1: The Movie is doing well at the box office. It’s seemingly a good movie that delivers what it promises.