Apple is reportedly preparing to impose latest fees and restrictions on software downloads outside of its App Store — in what may very well be a “major test” of Europe’s attempts to implement a sweeping law geared toward boosting tech competition.
It’s a part of the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant’s effort to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act ahead of a March 7 deadline — while also maintaining its hold on revenue generated by software downloads on its device.
Apple will allow iPhone users to download apps from other app stores for the primary time ever as a part of the plan – a practice referred to as “sideloading.”
Nevertheless, Apple will still maintain the ability to review all apps downloaded from other app stores onto its devices, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people conversant in the corporate’s considering.
Apple also will charge fees from developers who offer downloads separate from the App Store. The dimensions of those potential fees was not immediately known.
The plan would only apply to Europe, not the US market.
Whether it is enacted, Apple’s plan could face opposition from software developers who expected to supply downloads without such restrictions, the report noted.
It also stays to be seen if EU regulators will consider the plan to be compliant with its rules — or as an effort by Apple to skirt attempts to loosen its dominant hold on the app marketplace.
To that end, European Commission officials have reportedly met with Apple and other tech firms to go over their plans to comply.
That included a gathering earlier this month between Apple CEO Tim Cook and EU Commissioner executive vp Margrethe Vestager, a top antitrust official, in keeping with the Journal.
On the time, Vestager told reporters that Europe “stands absolutely able to do noncompliance cases” if mandatory.
The Journal’s sources said Apple spent “greater than a 12 months” crafting its plan to deal with the European law.
Apple has yet to formally announce any details of its plans and the Journal said they might still change.
The Post has reached out to Apple for comment. Apple shares were flat in trading Wednesday.
Apple has long argued that it needs to take care of strict supervision over app downloads to make sure user privacy and device security.
Meanwhile, Apple’s detractors have routinely blasted the steep fees it charges — including a 30% cut of App Store sales — and alleged boosting of its own apps.
The report noted that several competitors, including Spotify, Meta and Microsoft, are crafting potential strategies to capitalize on the law through their very own app download offerings.
The Digital Markets Act is geared toward six corporations which were deemed “gatekeepers” of the broader web: Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta and Microsoft.
The law, which took effect in November 2022, is geared toward making a level playing field for smaller tech competitors and improving data privacy protections for users.
The six corporations will face penalties in the event that they don’t comply with its rules.
Google has also faced regulatory scrutiny over practices inside its own “Google Play” Android app store. Nonetheless, in a key difference, Android phone users are already allowed to download apps from places apart from the Play store.
Earlier this week, Meta said in a blog post that it would supply more selections to Facebook and Instagram users in Europe in order to comply with the DMA — including “whether or not they would really like to share information between our services.”
For Apple, the changes in Europe are a part of a broader effort by the corporate to stave off mounting regulatory and legal scrutiny over its business practices
Earlier this month, Apple updated its App Store policies in the US to permit developers to make use of third-party payment services — as long as they pay Apple a 27% cut.
The corporate has enacted an analogous fee structure for outside payment methods in the Netherland and South Korea.
Apple’s move got here after the Supreme Court declined to take up appeals filed as a part of the corporate’s lengthy battle with “Fortnite” maker Epic Games.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney — a vocal critic of Apple — blasted Apple’s policy changes as “outrageous.”
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is alleged to be preparing a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Motion may very well be taken by as soon as February, in keeping with one report.