New agreement on AI regulation could be good news for Apple Intelligence in the EU

EU countries are currently set to miss out on Apple Intelligence features, but that may now change as a result of a new agreement between the US, EU, and UK on AI regulation.

Four law enforcement bodies have agreed to adopt “common principles” in the way that they address antitrust concerns over AI products and services – though some of the wording could potentially prove problematic for Apple …

Apple Intelligence not launching in EU countries

Apple Intelligence features are set to launch later this year, but the Cupertino company said last month that it would be excluding EU countries from the launch. Apple cited “regulatory uncertainties” as the reason for this.

“Due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act, we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these [new] features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements and Apple Intelligence — to our EU users this year.”

Meta later made almost exactly the same announcement using almost exactly the same words.

New agreement on AI regulation may help

The EU, US, and UK governments have now issued a joint statement in which they commit to adopting “common principles” for AI regulation. The statement was issued by:

• The EU’s European Commission
• The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority
• US Department of Justice
• US Federal Trade Commission

While all parties agree on those principles, the communique does note that each will be free to interpret them in their own ways.

Our legal powers and jurisdictional contexts differ, and ultimately, our decisions will always remain sovereign and independent.

9to5Mac’s Take

This is an encouraging sign for sure.

However, it’s notable that all three principles reference issues where the EU may adopt a tougher line than the US. Here are some of the phrases which may potentially prove problematic for Apple:

“When firms with market power engage in exclusionary tactics, they can deepen their moats, discourage investment and innovation by third parties, and undermine competition. The AI ecosystem will be better off the more that firms engage in fair dealing.”

“Competition and innovation around AI will likely be greater the more that AI products and services and their inputs are able to interoperate with each other. Any claims that interoperability requires sacrifices to privacy and security will be closely scrutinized.”

“This means scrutinizing ways that companies may employ mechanisms of lock-in that could prevent companies or individuals from being able to meaningfully seek or choose other options.”

Apple has, of course, frequently come into conflict with the EU on its walled-garden approach to things like iPhone apps, and it seems that this agreement still allows for similar battles over Apple Intelligence. Time will tell.

Image: 9to5Mac collage of Apple images