Apple and the European Commission have held a meeting to explore ways that allow the launch of Siri AI in the European Union without violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), achieving a “constructive exchange” to continue working on a solution.
Those from Cupertino introduced Siri AI, its long-awaited renewed version of its smarter and more integrated assistant, powered by new generation of Apple Intelligencewithin the framework of its annual WWDC 26 conference in early June.
The technology company made it clear from the first moment that Siri AI would not be available for users in the European Union due to the DMA since the new version of Siri is still not compatible with its requirements. Therefore, its availability on the iPhones, Apple Watch and iPads of European citizens is not expected, although Apple’s goal is “continue working with EU regulators” to find a way making it possible to launch Siri AI in the EU.
Precisely in this framework, the Apple CEO Tim Cook and the executive vice president of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunenhave met this week to Address launch complications of Siri AI in the EU.
This was shared by the Financial Times, according to the statements of a spokesperson for the European Union, who assured that the meeting stood out for having achieved a “constructive exchange on issues of common intereston which work continues”.
Specifically during the meeting, both parties tried to bring closer their positions on how Apple could launch the renewed version of Siri in Europe, without violating the DMA and receive million-dollar fines as a consequence. Although they have not shared more information about the topics discussed, it is a new approach between the technology company and regulatory bodies.
The reason why Apple cannot release Siri AI for European users is that, in order to comply with the DMAought allow third-party AI assistants to access data on Apple devices just like Siri. However, the technology company alleges that allowing any system “practically unlimited access to the device”, without the privacy that Siri AI does guarantee, is a risk to the safety of users.
It should be remembered that Apple has already pointed out on previous occasions that there is a lack of commitment on the part of the EU. As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, explained at the time of Siri AI’s introduction, the lack of willingness to “constructively engage in solutions that preserve privacy and security” means that the company is currently unable to offer an expected date for the availability of Siri AI on iOS and iPadOS in the EU.
Likewise, the iPhone manufacturer alleges that, for its part, have already offered possible solutions, such as the Trusted System Agent“an intermediary that would allow virtual assistants to securely access the same features and functions as Siri AI for devices in the EU.”
For its part, from the European Commissionconsider that Apple seeks to be granted an exception from its obligations before the DMA, which would harm fair competition. “The Commission will not grant any exemptionin the same way that a police officer would not exempt a driver from respecting the speed limit,” said the community spokesperson for Technological Sovereignty, Thomas Regnier.
“Apple’s proposal to delay interoperability of third-party AI agents while its product was available to users would have risked consolidate their service before others had a chance to compete for at least two years, if not more,” as stated by an official from the European Commission and reported by the aforementioned media.