Will Apple be forced to accept alternative app stores and sideloading?
At the center of the matter we find once again the App Store, which gives Apple a monopoly on the sale of apps and services, without any form of competition. Among other things, the Digital Markets Act - as formulated today - would provide for the obligation of sideloading, that is, the ability for users to install apps from alternative sources - such as the developer site, or from competing marketplaces. Two possibilities present on Android smartphones, but always excluded by Apple.
Apple has always defended the exclusion of sideloading, arguing that its introduction would undermine the security for which the ecosystem of iOS is known. In other words, opening the door to alternative sources would facilitate the spread of malware designed to target iPhones. "We would no longer be able to offer the privacy and security protection that users expect from us," reiterated a spokesperson for Apple in these hours.
According to the Financial Times, the negotiations - which involve companies in the sector, including Apple - will be concluded by the end of the month. Then the final draft of the DMA will be presented by the European Commission and then discussed and voted on by the Parliament and the Council. During this phase the proposal can be amended several times and it may take several months before its final approval. Apple has, in other words, extreme leeway to enforce its objections through lobbying.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, spoke several times on the subject of DMA and Sideloading. "I have carefully read the proposed regulation of tech companies that is being discussed these days," he said in June last year. “I think it has some good parts. I also believe that some of the points are not in the consumer's interests ".
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