Apple and the European Union have exchanged criticism over the delay in launching the much-anticipated Siri AI application for European users. A representative from the European Union’s executive branch has contested Apple’s justification for excluding European users from the app’s upcoming rollout later this year.
“We indeed need to set the record straight,” European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said. “The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only because absolutely nothing in the DMA prohibits Apple from introducing new products in the EU.”
Regnier referenced the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a comprehensive regulatory framework established by the European Union to prevent major technology “gatekeepers“ from impeding competition. Following its announcement of an upgraded artificial intelligence assistant at its recent developers conference, Apple cited the DMA as the reason it is not offering the assistant to iPhone and iPad users in the EU. The company did not specify a timeline for availability.
The DMA mandates that leading tech platforms provide competitors with equal access. However, Apple expressed concerns about what it views as an “extreme interpretation“ of the regulation by Brussels, which, according to the company, would require granting any virtual assistant “direct access“ to user data without adequate protections. Apple has indicated that it developed a solution and a plan to roll it out gradually over the next 18 months, but the European Commission ultimately rejected these proposals.
However, Regnier had a different version.
“Instead of trying to find a suitable, compliant solution,” Apple requested an 18-month exemption from the commission, he stated at a regular briefing in Brussels.
“Guess what? That’s not an option, because it would mean that no AI agent other than Siri AI, by the way, powered by Google, would have an equal chance to be chosen by iPhone users.”
EU law is “non-negotiable,“ Regnier said. “The commission won’t give any exemptions, just like a police officer would not exempt a driver from respecting the speed limit.”
This article used information from The Associated Press.
