Under proposed legislation recently unveiled by the EU, Apple would be forced to allow users to sideload apps from outside the security of the company’s curated App Store.
Jon Porter and James Vincent for The Verge:
This stipulation was included in the initial proposal for the bloc’s sweeping Digital Markets Act, or DMA, which came one step closer to being signed into law this week, and an EU spokesperson confirmed that the provision is still included.
“We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it,” said European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke in an emailed statement. “This freedom includes being able to opt for alternative sources of apps on your smartphone. With the DMA, a smartphone owner would still be able to enjoy safe and secure services of the default app store on their smart phones. On top of that, if a user so chooses, the DMA would allow a smartphone owner to also opt for other safe app stores.”
In addition to allowing third-party stores on its platform, Apple would also be forced to allow users to install apps from third-party sources (a practice known as sideloading) and to allow developers to use the App Store without using Apple’s payment systems.
MacDailyNews Take: If developers to use the App Store without using Apple’s payment systems, then they should be charged to use Apple’s App Store when conducting in-app commerce. Period.
Removing the requirement to use Apple’s payment system in apps removes much of the incentive for Apple to operate and maintain such an expensive operation as the App Store, which supports 1+ billion users. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Are, for example, Best Buy and Target forced by law to place signs next to each product that advertise lower prices for the same items at Walmart? No, because that would be ludicrous.
If Apple is forced by the DMA or any other legislation to allow developers to advertise lower prices in their apps which are distributed via Apple’s App Store, Apple should release the “In-App Advertising” API to track and charge an in-store advertising fee on any app that nets a sale or subscription via the advertisement of lower prices outside the App Store. We suggest Apple’s rate be 15% for developers making under $1 million per year and 30% for those making $1 million or more annually (exactly what they are now).
Regarding sideloading, as we wrote back in November 2021:
Apple allows sideloading apps on the Mac, yet the company routinely touts how much more secure the Mac is versus Windows PCs, so, logically, it follows that if the Digital Markets Act were enacted, Apple could apply the same third-party app certification to iOS and iPadOS as they do for macOS and still offer a markedly safer experience than the toxic hellstew provided by Android phones and tablets.
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