Apple has delayed its enhanced Siri artificial intelligence assistant in Europe due to a regulatory dispute with the European Commission over the Digital Markets Act. The new Siri features, developed with Google, will launch globally later this year but remain unavailable to roughly 450 million EU users. The conflict centers on interoperability requirements that Apple argues would compromise user privacy and security.

The Digital Markets Act mandates that large tech platforms allow third-party competitors to integrate with their systems. For Siri, this means outside developers could access personal device data like photos, files and passwords. Apple claims this creates security vulnerabilities that regulators have rejected as insufficient. The company proposed limiting third-party access to certain data, but EU officials insisted on full compliance.

Europe represents Apple's second-largest market at $111 billion in annual sales, making the delay significant for revenue and user experience. While iPhone and iPad users wait, Mac computers will receive the upgraded Siri. Previous AI features faced similar EU holds in 2024, and Meta also delayed services including Threads and smart glasses before eventual European launches.

The regulatory standoff highlights tensions between US tech innovation and EU competition rules. Apple maintains it cannot deliver effective AI while protecting user privacy, leaving millions of Europeans without the enhanced assistant when it launches.