The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) announced on June 16 that it has launched an investigation into Apple’s compliance with the interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the first preliminary investigation of its kind carried out by Italian authorities under the DMA. In a statement on its website, the AGCM said there is evidence that other consumer cloud storage service providers “may not be on an equal footing with Apple iCloud,” since they appear unable to access the same software features that Apple’s own services can call upon in iOS and iPadOS—specifically, Apple does not allow third-party cloud storage services to use the functional interfaces required to perform full device data backups within iOS/iPadOS. The DMA requires Apple to ensure that third-party consumer cloud service providers can interoperate with its operating platforms effectively and free of charge, and have equal access to iCloud functionality. The AGCM said its findings will be submitted to the European Commission to support the latter’s role as the DMA’s sole enforcement authority; companies that violate the DMA could face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover.
The investigation comes amid escalating tensions between Apple and EU regulators. At WWDC 2026, Apple announced that Siri AI and several new iOS 27 features would not be rolled out in the EU for the time being due to regulatory issues. The European Commission responded that this was Apple’s own decision and accused the company of “seeking exemptions rather than compliance.” The Italian investigation, which focuses on the more specific technical issue of cloud storage backup interfaces, represents a typical case of an EU member state authority independently exercising its DMA preliminary investigation powers, and it is the latest sign of increasing regulatory scrutiny over Apple’s compliance with its interoperability obligations.