Apple’s new partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple’s operating systems, virtual assistant and writing tools raises competition and privacy questions, experts said at EURACTIV.
Similar partnerships have already come under EU scrutiny and could face formal investigations for anti-competitive practices.
The integration of ChatGPT by Apple could lead to the strengthening of regulatory controls on competition, including regarding the risks of concentration between competitors sharing partnerships with the same artificial intelligence company.
The impact of such integration on access to third-party applications and user privacy is of concern, as is the shift from an on-device data processing model to an on-device processing model. cloudprompting increased scrutiny under the Digital Markets Regulation (Digital Markets ActDMA) and data protection legislation.
Euractiv contacted the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the French Competition Authority and the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), but they did not respond or refused to comment.
Euractiv also contacted Apple and OpenAI, but they did not provide any further statements than those already available.
What type of integration is this?
ChatGPT will be integrated into Apple’s operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers later this year, according to the announcement made during the Worldwide Developer Conference 2024 on June 8 during the presentation of Apple’s new operating system, iOS18.
The users “will be able to use ChatGPT for free, without creating an account”, said Craig Federsghini, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple. The integration concerns the most recent model of OpenAI, GPT-4o, access to which is currently paid.
Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, will be able to access ChatGPT, as well as users’ messages and emails, to provide more precise and contextual responses, the company said. Generative AI features built into Apple’s writing tools, such as Notes and Pages, will allow users to create written and visual content.
Competition issues
Regulators could examine possible anti-competitive practices through the lens of antitrust laws or the European DMA.
OpenAI is already under review in the EU, UK and US due to its partnership with Microsoft. Other similar partnerships, such as Amazon’s with Anthropic, have met the same fate.
These agreements may not fall under existing merger rules, but they could still be subject to scrutiny for competition concerns. For example, the EU antitrust regulator will not investigate the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership under merger rules, but could still investigate Microsoft for potential distortion of competition within the internal market, focusing on whether its market power results in anticompetitive practices.
Some policymakers fear that large technology companies will dominate AI, through these acquisitions and partnerships with start-up of IA, although they are not subject to merger rules, said Lazar Radic, competition policy researcher at the International Center for Law & Economics and adjunct professor of law at IE University.
Apple’s gatekeeper status under the DMA requires it to ensure fair access and prevent practices that could stifle competition, including those that disadvantage start-up.
The DMA and its processes are “fairly flexible” And “can be updated if necessary”Commission spokesperson Lea Zubler said at a press conference last Tuesday (June 11), when asked about a possible review of the collaboration between Apple and OpenAI.
Another future concern could be collaboration between competitors that share partnerships with the same AI company, such as Apple and Microsoft with OpenAI, Radic said.
“It is important to ensure that these companies do not exchange sensitive information that could distort competition”he continued.
Questions also arise about how Apple will ensure other apps can work with its AI tools, particularly those that compete with its own, and how its AI using Apple data Other apps will affect how users interact with those apps. This is of particular importance for apps that rely on ads, a lawyer speaking on condition of anonymity told Euractiv.
Data protection
In its statement, Apple claims that the integration will not compromise the protection of personal data of Apple OS users. OpenAI does not store user requests and “user IP addresses are hidden”.
But the use of such techniques, such as masking IP addresses, can be a “fuzzy zone”, explained to Euractiv Arnav Joshi, lawyer specializing in technologies at Clifford Chance. Furthermore, it is difficult to know “If the real options for raising barriers and preserving privacy are truly viable on a large scale — from a practical and legal point of view, I think we are in uncharted territory”he added.
Daniel Leufer, senior policy analyst at Access Now, told Euractiv that Apple “has moved away from its relatively high standards of privacy protection.”
Mr. Joshi, for his part, contests this point of view: “Apple has a strong track record of protecting user privacy and bases much of its marketing on this issue, so it knows what is at stake here.”
Companies have emphasized consent in their ads, making it clear that “Apple users are surveyed before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any documents or photos, and Siri then presents the answer directly.”
However, obtaining consent does not solve all the problems associated with launching such features. Consent and opt-in options are complex under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and are not always the best approach to introducing new features, Joshi believes.
OpenAI’s compliance with GDPR has been spotty. Italy’s data protection authority reopened an investigation into the company in March, and European privacy regulators launched a working group dedicated to protecting privacy on ChatGPT last year.
