The European Commission told Apple “no” on June 9, and it wasn’t particularly subtle about it. Apple had requested an 18-month exemption from the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability requirements, essentially asking Brussels for extra time before it had to let third-party virtual assistants play nicely with its ecosystem. The Commission’s answer: figure it out like everyone else.
The rejection lands one day after Apple revealed that its upgraded Siri AI would not ship with iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 in the European Union. Apple pointed to DMA compliance concerns as the reason. The Commission pointed right back at Apple, framing the delay as a corporate decision, not a regulatory inevitability.
What the DMA actually requires, and why Apple can’t dodge it
The Digital Markets Act, which became effective in 2022, is the EU’s flagship effort to prevent Big Tech from using dominant platforms as moats. The DMA designates certain companies as “gatekeepers,” a label Apple has carried since 2023, and forces them to open their platforms to competing services.
Apple proposed a workaround it called the “Trusted System Agent.” The idea, presumably, was to create a controlled pathway for third-party assistants to interact with Apple’s hardware. The Commission wasn’t impressed. The proposed solution failed to meet the compliance standards that the DMA requires, which left Apple in an awkward position: comply fully, or don’t launch.
