Apple and OpenAI Partnership Could Prompt EU Antitrust Regulation Revisions

The integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Apple’s operating systems, announced this week, could lead to a reevaluation of the European Union (EU)’s digital antitrust regulations, according to a European Commission spokesperson.

On Monday, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Apple disclosed their partnership, stating that ChatGPT’s language model will be incorporated into Apple’s iOS, iPadOS, and macOS platforms later this year. This move is set to enhance Apple’s digital assistant Siri and its writing tools with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Apple’s iOS was designated as a core platform service under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) in September 2023, subjecting it to a range of antitrust obligations. The DMA’s flexibility allows it to be updated as necessary, explained the Commission’s competition spokesperson, Lea Zuber, during a press briefing on Tuesday.

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“If the [core platform] services change, this can be reflected in the regulatory obligations,” Zuber stated. However, she noted that large language models like ChatGPT are not currently listed as core platform services under the DMA. Nevertheless, Zuber mentioned that these models could be integrated into core platform services such as online search engines or virtual assistants, which are covered by the regulation.

The press release did not specify if OpenAI’s ChatGPT features will be integrated into Apple’s Safari browser, also a core platform service under the EU’s DMA. Siri, which will integrate OpenAI’s capabilities, was not designated a core platform service.

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. It remains uncertain if Apple’s antitrust obligations under the DMA will extend to ChatGPT once it is integrated into iOS.

“Once [ChatGPT]’s service will be integrated [into Apple’s iOS], then we will be able to make our assessment,” Zuber added.

Source: Euractive