You guys need to see this because Apple is getting squeezed by European regulators again and this time it's right at the heart of how we store our data. Italy’s digital authority—the AGCM—is investigating whether iCloud holds a monopoly under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, specifically that third-party services don't get equal access to iOS and iPadOS as Apple's own cloud does. They have proof: full device backup features are available exclusively for iCloud, while competing services like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive can't tap into them at all. If the probe confirms this, Italy will forward the findings to the European Commission, which could mean massive fines or orders forcing Apple to open up these core system APIs.
This isn't just another antitrust case — it ties directly back to why Siri AI was already pulled from the EU. Craig Federighi told us earlier that they delayed Siri indefinitely because regulators wouldn't cooperate on solutions that protect user privacy and security, which is exactly the kind of defense Apple will deploy here too. They’ll claim opening system APIs breaks encryption or exposes personal data, but I think it gets deeper than a simple refusal to engage. What's really happening is Apple has built its entire ecosystem around walled-off services, and now regulators are forcing them to decide whether they want to actually compete in the cloud space rather than simply owning every point of entry for consumer storage.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2195198/italy-is-probing-apple-over-icloud-services-like-iphone-backups/
This isn't just another antitrust case — it ties directly back to why Siri AI was already pulled from the EU. Craig Federighi told us earlier that they delayed Siri indefinitely because regulators wouldn't cooperate on solutions that protect user privacy and security, which is exactly the kind of defense Apple will deploy here too. They’ll claim opening system APIs breaks encryption or exposes personal data, but I think it gets deeper than a simple refusal to engage. What's really happening is Apple has built its entire ecosystem around walled-off services, and now regulators are forcing them to decide whether they want to actually compete in the cloud space rather than simply owning every point of entry for consumer storage.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2195198/italy-is-probing-apple-over-icloud-services-like-iphone-backups/