Italy’s competition authority just opened an investigation into whether Apple gives third-party cloud providers the same access to iPhone and iPad internals that it gives iCloud. The probe, announced on June 16, is the first time the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) has flexed its muscles under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
What the investigation is actually about
The AGCM is examining whether Apple’s current setup offers third-party cloud service providers equitable and cost-free access to the essential hardware and software components used by iOS and iPadOS. The DMA, which the EU designed specifically to rein in so-called “gatekeepers,” requires designated platforms to ensure interoperability. Apple was designated as a gatekeeper under the regulation, meaning it must allow competitors to access the same core infrastructure it uses for its own services.
The scope of the Italian probe targets consumer cloud services specifically. Whatever the AGCM finds will be forwarded to the European Commission for further review, making this less of a standalone national action and more of a first domino in what could become a broader EU enforcement chain.
This isn’t Italy’s first rodeo with Apple’s cloud practices, either. The AGCM previously investigated Apple alongside Google and Dropbox back in September 2020 over its cloud storage practices.
