EU’s Breton tells Apple CEO to open its ecosystem to rivals

EU industry chief Thierry Breton on Tuesday called on Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook to open up the iPhone maker’s fiercely guarded ecosystem of hardware and software to rivals.

Breton’s comments came after meeting Cook in Brussels.

“The next job for Apple and other Big Tech, under the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is to open up its gates to competitors,” Breton told Reuters.

“Be it the electronic wallet, browsers or app stores, consumers using an Apple iPhone should be able to benefit from competitive services by a range of providers,” he said.

Apple declined to comment.

The newly adopted DMA sets out a list of dos and don’ts for Apple and other tech companies to abide by to increase competition.

Breton also took aim at Apple’s arguments that security and privacy issues are the reasons why it has a closed ecosystem.

“EU regulation fosters innovation, without compromising on security and privacy,” he said.