Apple App Store opening to competition hailed as ‘change’ by EU
On Friday, the digital regulator of the European Union expressed satisfaction with the ongoing transformation in the technology industry. This comes after Apple’s compliance with a new EU legislation, as the company announced its decision to permit alternative app stores on the iPhone, marking a significant shift.
When the European Union’s large-scale digital market law comes into force in March, a significant reform narrows the dominant position of the App Store, which has been the mainstay of the iPhone since 2008.
“The DMA opens the gates of the Internet to competition, so that the digital market is fair and open,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said when asked by AFP about Apple’s announcement. “Change is already happening.”
Breton said that on March 7, when the law goes into effect, the European Commission will evaluate tech companies’ proposals “based on feedback from third parties.”
“If the proposed solutions are not good enough, we will not hesitate to take strong action,” he warned.
He said the DMA means “more choice for consumers and more opportunity for smaller, innovative technology companies.”
With the major changes announced by Apple on Thursday, users will be able to download software outside of the App Store for the first time and will have new options for processing payments.
Other changes include giving users the option to download an alternative web browser when they first open Safari on the latest version of the iOS operating system. Until now, users had to go to settings to change the default browser.
In its announcement, Apple criticized DMA for creating “privacy and security risks” and said the company is installing safeguards to mitigate them.
Apple said the new options for processing payments and downloading apps “open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, illegal and harmful content.”
“While these safeguards are in place, many risks remain,” it said.
“The changes we’re announcing today meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act in the European Union while helping to protect EU users from the inevitable increased privacy and security threats this regulation will bring,” said Phil Schiller, head of Apple’s App Store.
“They make drama”
The EU has beefed up its legal arsenal to rein in Big Tech with tougher rules to protect European users online and increase competition in a sector dominated by US giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
Companies that violate the Digital Markets Act face fines of up to 20 percent of their global turnover, or even winding-up orders in serious cases.
Meta and Chinese TikTok have challenged the law.
Apple said it will provide EU users with “guidance” in March to help them “navigate the complexities introduced by the DMA changes, including a less intuitive user experience.”
A senior European official noted that Apple had similarly complained about and ultimately complied with EU rules forcing phone makers to adopt a universal USB-C charging cable.
“It’s the same story as a regular charger. They make drama but eventually comply,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“If they are concerned about security, it means they have not done the job properly and the commission can follow them because degrading product and service features such as security would not be in line with the DMA obligation,” the official added.
