EU pushes interoperability, not just fines

The European Union is no longer treating tech fines as the main event. In 2025 and 2026, the European Commission opened and expanded cases that tell companies exactly how they must change products, interfaces, and access rules under the Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s law for “gatekeeper” platforms. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) That law took effect in stages: it entered into force on November 1, 2022, became applicable on May 2, 2023, and gave the Commission power to police a short list of giant services like app stores, search engines, browsers, and messaging systems. The point was not just to punish abuse after the fact, but to stop a platform from using control of one market to lock up the next one. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) Fines still exist, and they are large. On April 23, 2025, the Commission fined Apple €500 million over anti-steering rules in the App Store and fined Meta €200 million over its advertising consent model, but the same announcement stressed that the companies also had to change behavior to comply. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) The sharper tool is a specification proceeding. That is the Commission saying, in effect, “you cannot just promise to open the door; here is the size of the doorway, the handle, and how quickly people must be let through.” (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) Apple became the clearest example on March 19, 2025, when the Commission adopted two decisions spelling out how Apple had to comply with interoperability duties for iPhone and iPad features. The Commission said those measures covered nine connectivity features used by connected devices and also rewrote the process Apple must use when outside developers ask for access. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) That sounds dry until you translate it into product design. If a smartwatch, headset, or other device maker gets better access to pairing, data transfer, setup, or notification features on the iPhone, Apple may have to redesign parts of its software so rivals can plug in more like Apple’s own accessories do. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) The second Apple decision went after the paperwork and timing, not just the code. The Commission said Apple had to make its request process more transparent and effective for businesses seeking interoperability, which means documenting why access is denied, how requests are handled, and what technical conditions apply. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) Google is now in the same lane. On January 27, 2026, the Commission opened proceedings to help Google comply with interoperability and online search data-sharing obligations, turning what could have been a simple legal warning into a technical negotiation over how Google’s services must actually work. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) This is why Brussels keeps saying fines are not the whole story. CNBC reported on April 10, 2026 that Google, Apple, and Meta are contesting more than €6 billion in European Union fines since the start of 2024, while the Commission argues its tougher line is already forcing companies to make decisions that benefit consumers. (cnbc.com, ec.europa.eu) A fine is a bill. An interoperability order is a renovation. One can be paid and appealed; the other can force a company to expose features, support rival hardware, share certain data, and justify restrictive design choices line by line to regulators and developers. (ec.europa.eu, ec.europa.eu) That is the shift in Europe’s playbook. The Commission is using the Digital Markets Act less like a speeding ticket and more like a building code, where the biggest platforms can still own the property but may no longer decide by themselves which doors stay locked. (ec.europa.eu, cnbc.com)