BRUSSELS bureaucrats have come under fire after Apple announced it will delay rollout of its powerful new Siri AI to customers in Europe.
The tech giant said its range of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches in all EU states will not have access to this new feature capable of carrying out complex tasks on behalf of users.
According to company spokespeople, the decision stems from restrictions imposed by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which would require Apple to make its technology compatible with competitors’ products, as well as grant them access to sensitive user data.
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Apple reportedly asked EU lawmakers for an 18-month exemption from the DMA while it worked to ensure compliance, but regulators said the request was denied.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said: “[EU regulators’] refusal to engage constructively on solutions that preserve privacy and security means we do not currently have a timeline for Siri AI’s availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU.”
Unveiled on Monday, Siri AI employs Google’s powerful Gemini model to help users complete tasks across different apps, draft messages and emails, and interpret information displayed on screen, according to company information.
It will be available worldwide, including in the US and the UK, when Apple’s iOS 27 and iPadOS operating systems launch later this year.
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To comply with the EU’s DMA rules, however, Apple would have to grant rival AI assistants access to the same system features used by Siri in order to ensure ‘fair competition,’ EU regulators have explained.
Apple criticised the regulation, arguing that the DMA could create privacy and security risks by allowing third-party AI systems deeper access to users’ personal data and device functions.
“In essence, [the EU commission is] asking us to conduct a very risky experiment on many, many, many tens of millions of users,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief, told reporters on Tuesday.
“We only want to ship these capabilities when we ?can ?do so safely,” he added.
However, European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier insisted the choice to delay Siri AI’s EU rollout was Apple’s and Apple’s alone.
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“Absolutely nothing in the DMA prohibits Apple from introducing new products in the EU,” Regnier told reporters on Tuesday.
“What Apple is however not allowed to do, is to close the market. It’s not for them to choose which AI tools our EU citizens get to use or not,” he added.
Commenting on the exemption requested by Apple, Regnier said: “That’s not an option, because it would mean that no AI agent other than Siri AI, by the way powered by Google, would have an equal chance to be chosen by iPhone users.”
Adding to the controversy, economics experts accused the European Commission of preventing citizens from accessing cutting-edge technology.
Dirk Auer, a senior fellow at the US International Center for Law & Economics, said: “Look at the outcome. Which AI tools do EU citizens get on their iPhones? Not Siri AI.
“Deeply integrated rivals don’t materialise just because an incumbent was blocked.
“Someone chose. It wasn’t Europeans.”
Despite the delay on iPhones and iPads, Apple has confirmed that Siri AI will still be available to EU users on Mac computers.
The DMA, which entered into force in late 2022, aims to rein in the power of Big Tech, give rivals more room to compete, and provide consumers with greater choice.
Breaches of the DMA can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global annual turnover, rising to 20% for repeat offences.
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