Apple Challenges ‘Unreasonable’ EU Order to Open Up to Rivals

The Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at the Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. (Reuters)
The Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at the Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. (Reuters)
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Apple Challenges ‘Unreasonable’ EU Order to Open Up to Rivals

The Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at the Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. (Reuters)
The Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at the Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. (Reuters)

Apple has submitted a legal challenge to an EU order to open up its closed ecosystem to rivals such as Meta and Alphabet's Google, saying the demands are unreasonable and hamper innovation.

The European Commission had in March detailed how Apple must comply with the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein in the power of Big Tech.

Apple said the EU's interoperability requirements create "a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation".

"These requirements will also hand data-hungry companies sensitive information, which poses massive privacy and security risks to our EU users," it said in a statement.

"These deeply flawed rules that only target Apple and no other company will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe, leading to an inferior user experience for our European customers."

Meta, Google, Spotify and Garmin are among companies that have requested access to Apple users' data.

The legal fight will likely take years to play out in court. Until then, Apple will have to comply with the EU order.

The Commission ordered Apple to give rival makers of smartphones, headphones and virtual reality headsets access to its technology and mobile operating system so they can connect with Apple's iPhones and iPad tablets.

It also set out a detailed process and timeline for Apple to respond to interoperability requests from app developers.



Brazil to Get Satellite Internet from Chinese Rival to Starlink in 2026

Brazil's new Chief of Staff of the Presidency Rui Costa attends a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Brazil's new Chief of Staff of the Presidency Rui Costa attends a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
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Brazil to Get Satellite Internet from Chinese Rival to Starlink in 2026

Brazil's new Chief of Staff of the Presidency Rui Costa attends a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Brazil's new Chief of Staff of the Presidency Rui Costa attends a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Chinese low Earth orbit satellite company SpaceSail will start providing internet access to remote areas in Brazil in the first half of 2026, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff, Rui Costa, said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

SpaceSail and Brazil's state-owned telecom Telebras had signed a memorandum of understanding in late 2024 to offer satellite internet services for schools, hospitals and other essential services in the South American country.

SpaceSail competes directly with Elon Musk's Starlink in the satellite internet market.


Google Launches First Ever Co-branded Credit Card in India

FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Google Launches First Ever Co-branded Credit Card in India

FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, US, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Alphabet Inc's Google Pay launched its first co-branded digital credit card in India on Wednesday in partnership with Axis Bank, intensifying efforts to monetize its massive user base in the country's crowded fintech sector.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

While Google Pay is a dominant player in India's popular domestic payments network, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), its core service generates zero revenue from user-to-user payments due to government mandates. It, however, earns commissions for in-app services like bill payments and mobile recharges, Reuters reported.

The credit card launch opens a new avenue for Google to monetize its user base, mirroring strategies by domestic rivals Paytm and PhonePe to cross-sell lending products to payment users.

BY THE NUMBERS

India has just 50 million credit card holders, according to Google Pay, whereas its population exceeds 1.4 billion.

Google Pay meanwhile is the second top app in India by number of UPI transactions, having processed nearly 7.2 billion transactions in October alone.

HOW IT WORKS

Axis Bank manages the credit risk and issuance, while the digital-only card will be linked to the Google Pay app to make online and offline payments on the go.


UK Looks to Restart Cooperation after US Suspends Tech Deal

Pedestrians walk across Westminster Bridge as early morning fog covers the streets of London on December 17, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Pedestrians walk across Westminster Bridge as early morning fog covers the streets of London on December 17, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
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UK Looks to Restart Cooperation after US Suspends Tech Deal

Pedestrians walk across Westminster Bridge as early morning fog covers the streets of London on December 17, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Pedestrians walk across Westminster Bridge as early morning fog covers the streets of London on December 17, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

The UK government on Wednesday said it was focused on resuming talks promptly after the United States suspended implementation of a tech cooperation deal with Britain.

The deal was signed during US President Donald Trump's pomp-filled state visit to the UK in September.

But on Tuesday Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said on X that the UK must make "substantial progress" on trade talks for the deal to resume.

The US and UK have been trying to implement the "Economic Prosperity Deal," agreed in May and one of the first international agreements signed after Trump threatened the world with punishing tariffs on goods entering the United States.

The US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal agreed in September 2025 was a non-binding agreement to sit alongside the broader Economic Prosperity Deal.

It was designed to align the two countries on tech innovation while spurring mostly private-sector investment, Agence France Presse reported.

Following the White House announcement, a UK government spokesperson said: "We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as possible... and working together to help shape the emerging technologies of the future."

Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle held trade talks with US counterparts in Washington DC last week to progress the Economic Prosperity Deal, the spokesperson said.

"They celebrated the success of the recent pharma deal and both sides agreed to continue further negotiations next year."

According to the Financial Times, US officials have become increasingly frustrated with Britain's lack of willingness to address non-tariff barriers, including rules and regulations governing food and industrial goods.