On March 19 of this year, the European Commission (“Commission”) made two important decisions specifying how Apple must comply with its interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). The Commission has now concretely determined what steps Apple must take regarding improving the process for interoperability requests from third parties and simplifying the connection of third party (external) devices (connected devices). These decisions follow the two specification procedures that the Commission initiated in September 2024 to guide Apple in complying with the DMA.
Through a specification procedure, the Commission can prescribe exactly what measures a ‘gatekeeper’ (such as Apple or Alphabet) must take to fulfil its obligations under the DMA. Based on the interoperability obligations, it becomes possible or easier for providers of third party products to make them function on the operating systems of gatekeepers such as iOS, iPadOS (Apple) and Android (Alphabet).
Under the DMA, gatekeepers who manage operating systems or virtual assistants are obligated to allow apps or products from third party providers to function on their operating systems or virtual assistants. For other obligations and prohibitions of gatekeepers under the DMA, see our general blog about the DMA and the blog about the prohibition on self-preferencing.
Interoperability is not an everyday term, yet we deal with it daily. For consumers, this means the option to connect Bose headphones to an Apple or Android phone or use an alternative app store on an Apple or Android phone. In short, interoperability aims to limit the so-called lock-in effect, making it easier for consumers to switch to products and services from other providers. For developers of products and services, this offers an expansion of their possibilities to make these products or services compatible with the products and services of gatekeepers.
The DMA contains horizontal interoperability obligations (between the same products) and vertical interoperability obligations (products that connect to each other).
Most of the interoperability obligations of the DMA are vertical in nature. Vertical interoperability concerns services and products at different levels of the value chain. The vertical interoperability obligations focus on two levels of the value chain: i) operating systems (OS) and virtual assistants (VA) and ii) apps, app stores, and hardware and software features that can work with OS’s and VA’s.
Article 6(4) of the DMA requires gatekeepers that manage operating systems (OS) (such as Google and Apple) to provide interoperability between their operating systems and third-party software applications. This means that developers of third party apps must have the possibility to make their software function on the operating systems of these gatekeepers, such as Android or iOS.
Article 6(7) of the DMA requires that both OS and VA gatekeepers must achieve free and effective interoperability between their hardware, software, and operating system features and third-party hardware and digital services. This obligation aims to create a level playing field. A third party must therefore be able to connect to the features as effectively as the gatekeeper’s own services or hardware can connect to the respective features. This means that gatekeepers must not only provide access to their systems but also ensure that the access conditions for their own services are the same for external service providers or hardware suppliers. These access conditions must be fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.
In addition to vertical interoperability, there is also horizontal interoperability. Article 7 of the DMA introduces a horizontal interoperability obligation for gatekeepers that offer number-independent interpersonal communications services, or online messaging services. This interoperability obligation initially only applies to a subset of basic functions, namely individual messages between two separate end users and the exchange of media and files between those users. The request must also come from the third-party provider. Within two or four years, this must be expanded to include messaging in groups and voice and video calls. End-to-end encryption must not be compromised, and gatekeepers must also take necessary measures to ensure security.
Horizontal interoperability thus aims to offer the possibility of communicating between different products, particularly messaging services such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Messenger. A notable example of already existing interoperability is the ability to communicate between different email services, such as between the @hotmail.com, @icloud.com, or @gmail.com domains.
With the specification procedures, the Commission has taken a new step to make gatekeepers comply with their obligations under the DMA. Since March 2025, the Authority for Consumers & Markets (“ACM”) in the Netherlands has been authorized to investigate compliance with the DMA. SOLV advises various companies on the potential of the DMA for their business operations. It also advises companies on complaints against gatekeepers that compete unfairly.
