- Apple just revealed the numbers of European users for its various platforms
- The company released this information to comply with the DSA
- It also announced that the new rules will apply to all versions of the App Store (but not just iOS).
Apple has never been very forthcoming about the number of its users or the number of devices sold. And the company is more conservative when it comes to the number of users in a particular region. However, as Europe prepares to apply DSA or Digital Services ActCupertino has just published a document revealing the number of users it has in the European Union.
Here, then, is the number of users of the various Apple platforms in Europe, according to the document you posted:
- App Store on iOS: 101 million users
- App Store on iPadOS: 23 million users
- App Store on macOS: 6 million users
- App Store on tvOS: 1 million users
- App Store on watchOS: Less than 1 million users
- Apple Books: less than 1 million users
- Paid podcast subscription: Less than 1 million users
Disclosure of this information has become a legal requirement and the data shared by the Cupertino company corresponds to the average number of monthly active users in the European Union for its brokerage services, calculated as an average over the six-month period ending January 31, 2023.
The rules will apply to all app stores
As specified in the Apple document, an online platform is considered a VLOP (Very Large Platforms On The Internet or Very Large Online Platform) when it has more than 45 million users. Since the company considers the different versions of the App Store to be distinct platforms, it considers only the iOS version of the Store to be a VLOP. However, Apple intends to enforce VLOPs rules across all of its stores.
However, Apple intends, on a completely voluntary basis, to align each current App Store release (including those that do not currently meet the VLOP designation threshold) with existing DSA requirements for VLOPs., because the DSA’s goals align with Apple’s goals to protect consumers. of illegal contentApple explains.
The European Union will conduct mock audits
DSA rules will begin to apply this year. But before that, the European Commission intends to carry out mock checks with the relevant companies that have agreed to submit to it. The idea is for these companies to be DSA compliant even before the rules are applied. And recently, the European Commissioner revealed, during an interview, that Twitter is among the companies that have agreed to submit to it.
Once the rules are in place, the European Commission will be able to conduct raids to verify the compliance of online platforms affected by the DSA with these new EU rules. These online platforms require new standards to be adopted in Europe, covering many areas such as transparency towards consumers, moderation, privacy protection, and data security.
List of affected platforms
It should also be noted that the European Commissioner has already published a list of 19 platforms to which new rules will apply from August 25, according to the DSA. that it :
- AliExpress
- Amazon store
- app store
- bing
- reservation
- FB
- Google Maps
- google apps
- google search
- google shopping
- snap chat
- Tik Tok
- Wikipedia
- Youtube
- Zalando
These are the services that, according to the European Commissioner, meet the definition of VLOP (very large online platform) or VLOSE (very large search engine). “We consider that these 19 online platforms and search engines have become systematically relevant and have special responsibilities to make the Internet a safe and trustworthy space, in particular on four points,” notes Thierry Breton in a LinkedIn post.
Apple will also be affected by DMA
These four points are: “Increasing protection, control and choice for its users”And “Enhanced protection for minors online”a “More reliable and trustworthy content moderation, less illegal content, and less misinformation online.”And More transparency and accountability.
More Responsibility, Less Opacity: What It Means to Be a “Too Big Online Platform”
The EU’s digital leader @employee Calls on very large internet platforms and search engines to get ready to take off before August 25th ⤵️ https://t.co/xfPSE8kXVn #DSA
– Lucia Caudet April 25, 2023
It should be noted that in addition to the DSA, the European Union is also preparing an application DMA or Digital Markets Act. And that text should affect Apple a little bit more, compared to the DSA. In fact, DMA will force Apple to end the closed system on iOS. According to rumors, the company could also allow sideloading (the ability to install apps that are not in the App Store) on iOS 17.