The EU’s Big Tech law was meant to move fast. It hasn’t.

As the Digital Markets Act enters its third year, critics say enforcement is drifting toward the same delays that have plagued traditional antitrust probes.

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BRUSSELS — When the EU’s Digital Markets Act pried open Apple’s iPhone ecosystem in 2024, Aptoide walked in. The Lisbon-based developer launched its own app store with fees below Apple’s standard cut, hoping to lure apps away from the iPhone maker.

“It had a lot of promise,” said its CEO Paulo Trezentos.

Two years later, that promise has started to sour. Apple’s conditions continue to make the DMA-enabled setup an unattractive way to run a business, Trezentos said in an interview. For others, it’s worse: In January, one of Aptoide’s few competitors, SetApp Mobile, shut up shop, citing “still-evolving and complex business terms that don’t fit.”