Margrethe Vestager, an Apple rival, and EU antitrust commissioner andamp;, leaving after ten years

Margrethe Vestager is the Executive Vice-President and President of the European Commission
Margrethe Vestager spent a decade as the European Union’s leader in its attempts to control Big Tech. Tim Cook called her actions “total political crap.” She won’t do it anymore. The European Commissioner for competition is a mandate whose holder must be reappointed at least every five years. Vestager, who began her second term in 2014, has played a key role in the EU’s numerous and varied disputes with Apple over the past decade. The Financial Times reports that Vestager won’t be nominated to run for a third term. This is reportedly due to Vestager’s Social Liberal Party’s poor performance in Denmark’s elections of 2022. Vestager, however, said in June 2024 that her turbulent decade in the role was likely to be ending. “I may sleep for about a month because this has been a decade of hypercharged,” she said to CNBC. “But other than that, the chances of a mandate are very, very slim, so I’m looking forward to a brand new chapter.” Vestager’s main concern in the CNBC interview was Apple. It was not the first time she had said that. Margrethe Vestager’s anti Apple stance Margrethe Vestager played a key role in the EU’s legal action against Apple and Ireland. In 2016, the European Commission imposed its largest penalty to date, ordering Apple pay $14.5 billion for what it claimed were back taxes. Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly criticized this ruling, which is unusual. He did not mince words, calling it “total nonsense” and a measure that was anti-US. Apple’s agreement with Ireland’s Government is certainly beneficial financially. It’s also true, that Apple’s global finances are overseen by the company’s headquarters, which is located in Cork, Ireland. The key word was “agreement.” Apple says it pays all the taxes it’s required to pay in every country it operates in, but it rarely mentions how much it pays or what a good deal it gets with countries like Ireland. According to the European Commission Apple paid 1% tax in 2003 and 0.005% tax in 2014. Vestager was the one to announce that this was illegal. Investigations had started before Vestager took office, but she was the one who announced it. In 2016, she stated that Ireland had granted Apple illegal tax benefits, which enabled Apple to pay significantly less tax over many years than other businesses. Margrethe vestager (left) with Tim Cook at Apple Park. (Souce Margrethe vestager)Ireland disagreed then and still disagrees now. Apple paid the $14.5 billion fine, which was a large amount even at that time. However, it only went into an escrow fund. The money has been waiting for so many years, and despite many rulings and many legal cases. The Irish taxation case was supposed to demonstrate that the EU could and would punish Big Tech firms for abusing their market power, but the length of the legal argument has made it lose its impact. In November 2023, the EU Advocate General said that the trial should be re-started. Vestager will not be in office when this case is finally resolved. She saw the Digital Markets Act through to its conclusion, and it became law in March 2024. Digital Markets Act, Apple The DMA is an array of laws designed to protect consumers from the excesses and abuses of Big Tech companies. It was created specifically to target companies like Apple. Apple was forced to switch from a Lightning to USB-C charger for the iPhone because of this. The benefits are clear, but not as the EU has stated. This element of forcing change demonstrated the EU’s capability to get laws into the books where most other countries and territories haven’t. It also showed shortsightedness as the law appears to force firms to stick with USB-C, even when better alternatives come along. Opening up the App Store Other countries have discussed requiring Apple to allow alternative third-party apps to the iOS App Store, but only Europe has implemented it. In the EU, iPhone users and iPad owners must be able to choose from a wide range of alternatives to Apple’s products, including browsers and digital wallets. Under Vestager, the EU appears to have a position that any company that wants iPhone technology should be able to access it. It seems to view the iPhone as a utility. Apple may not release Apple Intelligence to Europe as it does in the rest of world. Apple says that it is “committed” to collaborating with the EC to find a resolution. Apple argues that it is being cautious in a situation where the law may not be clear. Margrethe Vestager, however, blasted the decision. “I find that to be the most shocking, open declaration of their knowledge that this is yet another way for them to disable competition,” she said. “Where they already have a stronghold.” The EU tends to favor firms based within its own union under Vestager. Most notably, Spotify. The EU fined Apple 2 billion dollars for allegedly exploiting Spotify’s dominance to gain more listeners. Spotify was only five times as popular as Apple Music at the time it filed its complaint. Apple’s claim that Spotify was preventing Apple from telling users about special offers is not true. Vestager often speaks of leveling the playing field between companies and how the government “should not forget that the taxpayers pay this… expect things to be done wisely.” Vestager supported Spotify over Apple, despite the fact that Apple Music, far from dominating its market, was smaller than its accuser. Vestager slammed Apple for publicly stating that it wanted guidance to bring Apple Intelligence into the EU under DMA law. She has a mixed record. She has made what appear to be unreasonable conclusions regarding Apple, but she was also the first to force the company to open its App Store. Vestager isn’t the only one who supports the DMA, and the enforcement of fines for any violation of these laws. As the DMA came into full force, she took a leave of absence without pay to work towards getting elected to the presidency at the European Investment Bank. She was not elected and instead pulled out in December 2023. She tweeted at the time that she would be returning to her position overseeing the EU DMA. Even then, she knew her term limit was approaching and that she was unlikely to be able to continue in this role. Vestager, whose departure was all but imminent, appeared to be more outspoken in public, and did so specifically to criticise Apple. It is not yet known who will replace her. It is known that Vestager’s inability to secure a job again despite serving her term is seen as a failure. Former ministers have reportedly said that Vestager was out. “Nobody owes anything to her.”