In order to comply with the Digital Market Act (DMA) by the European Union (EU), Apple agreed to make changes to the App Store and offer third-party stores that they had refused to do. According to a Financial Times report citing internal sources, Microsoft and Meta lobbied the EU to reject the changes made by this ole Apple.
The reason given is that Apple doesn't really comply with the DMA requirements. For example even though third-party stores are allowed only in the EU, Apple will collect a fee of €0.50 for each app installation per year. This makes it an unprofitable alternative store for developers who want to deal outside the Apple ecosystem, especially those that offer free apps.
Microsoft and Meta have previously issued comments saying that the changes made by Apple are actually not in line with the DMA which wants to offer options to EU residents. The DMA will come into force next March 7 with the EU still not issuing a statement to accept the changes that Apple will make.