5play.org / News / The European Union will force Apple to allow downloading applications from third-party marketplaces

The European Union will force Apple to allow downloading applications from third-party marketplaces

823
The European Union will force Apple to allow downloading applications from third-party marketplaces
In November, it became known that the European Union is considering the possibility of forcing the Cupertino company to allow the installation of applications not only from the App Store. On December 14, officials came to a consensus on the issue, and Apple will not like their decision.

The European Union Digital Markets Act (DMA) will oblige Apple to integrate a choice of app marketplace into iOS. This feature should become available no later than 2024. Bloomberg reports that Apple has already begun work on making the appropriate changes. It is possible that the changes will take effect as early as next year with the release of iOS 17.

The European Union will force Apple to allow downloading applications from third-party marketplaces


Previously, Apple said that their only application store is the key to the security of the operating system. Critics of this policy, in turn, believe that the reason for the lack of alternative marketplaces lies in the fact that the company receives a 30 percent commission on every purchase in the App Store.

The rise of third-party app stores could force Apple to cut fees to make the App Store more attractive to game and app developers. On the other hand, the new law does not prohibit the company from monitoring applications developed for iOS and demanding a fee for checking them for compliance with security requirements.

The EU Digital Markets Act will only apply within the EU. However, US officials are already thinking about creating a similar bill, which could be adopted for other countries. Another important requirement of DMA will be the opening of a branded iMessage messaging service to third-party services. Fulfilling the requirement will get rid of the messaging compatibility issue between iOS and Android.
Login or register to post comments

Comments 0

There are no comments yet, but you can be the one to add the very first comment!