questions to Apple at the European Commission DMA session
MyPrintPod attended the European Commission Digital Markets Act session through ACT | The App Association and raised questions with Apple on compliance.
on Monday 30 June 2025, myprintpod attended a European Commission session on the Digital Markets Act as part of ACT | The App Association membership.
the European Commission has now uploaded the video from the session to the web.
watch the European Commission DMA session
why the DMA matters to small businesses
the Digital Markets Act is often discussed as a policy issue between regulators and large technology platforms.
but the practical effects are felt by smaller businesses too.
SMEs and independent developers rely on stable, trusted digital ecosystems to reach customers, distribute products and build sustainable businesses.
when regulation changes how those ecosystems operate, small companies need to understand the impact clearly.
asking questions directly
myprintpod was able to ask a number of questions to Apple during the session, particularly to Gary Davis and the legal team.
that kind of direct engagement matters.
small businesses need opportunities to put practical questions to the organisations and regulators shaping the environment they operate in.
the workshop was a long day for everyone involved. Thank you to Mike Sax and Stephen Tulip of ACT | The App Association for representing the interests of the membership, and to the other ACT members who contributed.
what the compliance changes mean in practice
the DMA compliance process has already been running in the EU for around a year.
from an end-user perspective, several changes are now visible or emerging:
- users are prompted to change browsers if they want to when upgrading their phones
- users can remove native apps, such as mail, camera and photos, and replace them with third-party alternatives
- phone data portability between iOS and Android is being expanded
- the app ecosystem is being opened so users may be able to download apps from a wider range of sources
some of this may benefit European technology providers.
but myprintpod’s concern is that it may also make the experience worse and less safe for ordinary users.
more choice is not automatically useful if it creates more prompts, more consent fatigue and more confusion. Most phone users want a system that works reliably and safely. They do not want to be forced into repeated decisions they do not fully understand.
the risk is that this becomes click city: more boxes, more warnings, more settings and more opportunities for phishing and social engineering attacks.
whose voices are being heard
the meeting included large companies and organisations, including Netflix, Spotify and Qualcomm, as well as independent software organisations and small independent software vendors.
from a small business perspective, it did not feel as if enough small software companies were properly represented.
that is a problem.
SMEs are a major engine of growth, but they do not have the legal teams, policy departments or compliance budgets of larger companies. If regulation is shaped mainly by the largest and loudest voices, smaller businesses can be left dealing with the consequences.
regulation should help small companies grow
Apple and the other large technology platforms need accountability.
that does not mean every regulatory intervention helps small businesses.
the most useful policy environment is one that helps small businesses become larger through supportive ecosystems, access to finance, sensible compliance and fair routes to market.
myprintpod’s concern is that the DMA may overregulate large platforms in a way that creates side effects for everyone else. If investors see more uncertainty, more fragmentation and more compliance risk, that can make it harder for startups to grow into the larger companies policymakers say they want to create.
this matters for the UK too.
if similar approaches arrive here, small businesses need to be in the room early, before the practical consequences are already locked in.
the role of ACT
myprintpod attended as part of ACT | The App Association.
ACT gives small technology businesses a route into policy discussions that would otherwise be difficult to access.
for myprintpod, that matters because policy around digital markets, compliance, data and platforms can affect how small companies grow, sell and protect their customers.
what myprintpod took away
the DMA conversation is complex.
competition, security, compliance and customer trust all have to be considered together.
for SMEs, the priority is practical: regulation should create fairer markets without creating new risks, customer confusion or compliance burdens that smaller businesses cannot absorb.
the goal should be a market where small companies can grow, users stay protected, and policy is based on evidence from the businesses that have to operate under it.
#DMA #Apple #EC #Compliance #ACT #EU #Regulation