EU antitrust chief to Tim Cook: Apple must allow third-party app stores

appleinsider.com EU antitrust chief tells Tim Cook Apple must allow third-party app stores

The European Union's Margrethe Vestager has met with leaders of US Big Tech firms to discuss their operations in the EU, and with Apple's Tim Cook concentrated on the App Store and Apple Music.

EU antitrust chief to Tim Cook: Apple must allow third-party app stores::The European Union's Margrethe Vestager has met with leaders of US Big Tech firms to discuss their operations in the EU, and with Apple's Tim Cook concentrated on the App Store and Apple Music.

58 comments

The EU is literally the only major entity actually trying at this point. Thank you!
- Actually a bunch of other countries are considering the same thing. Including the USA.
  
  Yea, but they only copy EU, which does the hard work. So I bet nobody would do anything, if EU wouldn’t.
  
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_effect
People should move to EU
- Y'all seem to be doing fine without my vote... The United States on the other hand... Definitely needs to keep my vote...
- I'm already planning to do that, but the Schengen Area imposes visa restrictions on us, and there's a 20% chance I'll get denied anyway.
  
  And no, the country that I wanna go to is not the Netherlands, despite my username looking like someone from that country. I still like it doe.
- There's already too many non Europeans in Europe.
  
  that's okay. When yo live in a capitalist economy where globalization plays an important part , you can't choose who can come and who can't. The power is not with you or me to decide. We can whine but that's about it.
The only third party store that should be allowed is fdroid (or fios ig), everything else that is sideloaded is either malware or pirated apps
- pirated apps
  
  oh woes.
  
  ~~This community encourages such incredible depth and discourse. Keep it up, folks!~~
  
  Edit: whoops, posted this on the wrong community. Yay, piracy!
- And as they are opened up major companies can go to them for better deals allowing for the free market to work as intended.
  
  Android has sideloading, does google take a lower cut than apple? No. Even with sideloading allowed, 99% people don't use it, majority android users probably don't even know about this thing called apks.
- Yea, because with cydia zebra and sileo, you can only install malware /s
  
  thats not what i meant, i meant that it just opens the door for malware. And even with android, how many people actually install apks? Not many, bcs everything is there on the play store.
No, thank you. I will continue to use Apple's App Store. What made me switch to the iPhone was the fact that I could trust the apps in the App Store. I knew there was no chance of downloading malware. It's a liberating experience.

I don't want it to be like Android.
- just don't participate. nobody is asking you to use other app stores. this is only a good thing.
  
  Nobody is asking you yet. Once it becomes an option I guarantee some apps will decide that they'd prefer to use a third party store over the App Store and if that happens to be an app you use then you are essentially being asked to use other app stores.
  
  This isn't advocating for or against it, I'm just saying that if you think that this is purely additive and those who don't want it can just not interact with it and get the same experience they have today then you're being naive.
  
  Regardless, it's going to be interesting to watch. Smaller niche apps that don't need discoverability will probably benefit, since if you need a niche app for something you're probably prepared to put the effort into using a third party store. Large apps I suspect will go a hybrid model if they do anything at all (use both the App Store and a third party store, with the third party store having a lower price, although I guarantee it won't be 30% less), and stuff in between will likely stay on the App Store unless there's enough of a network effect to get enough users to a third party store to make it worth switching.
  
  Using the same logic: just don’t participate by not purchasing an apple product. There are alternatives out there, buy an android. I enjoy my walled garden, it’s a feature that I pay a premium for.
  
  Enter everyone to tell me why I’m wrong and/or stupid (see replies below).
- I've been on android for 10+ years and never downloaded malware.
  
  Don't try to download cracked apps and you'll be fine.
  
  There have been some genuine apps that then download malware in the background, often after months.
  
  But the same thing exists on the apple store.
- No freedom to choose
  
  "Liberating"
  
  Uh huh. Try thinking about other people. Just because you don't want freedom doesn't mean other people don't deserve it. You can always just choose to stick to Apple's crap if you really want to. But right now, people can't choose what they want because gaining control over their own damn device is so difficult by design. That's the point.
- https://lifehacker.com/great-now-the-apple-app-store-has-malware-too-1849386738#:~:text=Most recently%2C security research Alex,single group based in China.
  
  https://www.wired.com/story/apple-app-store-malware-click-fraud/
  
  https://nypost.com/2024/01/02/tech/smartphone-users-warned-to-delete-these-17-dangerous-apps/
  
  Now you will say, but I god-like smurt (smart), I wunt (won't) download this, ofviously (obviously).
- So do. Just because you only want one shop doesn't mean other should have to shop there.
  
  Try thinking of other people and how you might differ from them.
- Lol, there IS some malware in the App Store and there is not more malware in the playstore.
  
  Only difference, on android it is easy to sideload, for example, emulators. And that there exists an alternative opensource app store (Fdroid)
- No one is forcing you to use another app store. I'm sure the operating system will also allow you to turn off apps from unknown sources just like Android. More options for other people is not a bad thing. People paid for the device, they should be able to use it however they wish.
- I'd be more worried about every company trying to force their users into using their own store to access their apps.
- Simp harder for daddy
- Don't you think app developers should have the freedom of choice for app stores? Android has multiple places to get apps, lots of FOSS apps aren't on play store, and likely aren't on iOS at all. Having the option for 3rd party store gives not just users, but developers too, an option and access to more apps/users that wouldn't otherwise be available. You want safe secure apps, that's all good.
  You mentioned that an app might move away from the app store to a 3rd party store, if you already use and trust that developer's product how will having to get it from a different location change that?
  Now, not to sound too harsh, but why your convenience of not having to go get another store more important than a devs ability to host their product in a different location?
- All these corporations just getting greedy. There will be a pirated app store and I will be the first to endorse it!!
- Yep right
  
  Here's 10 malware for iOS that don't involve using a store
  
  https://macpaw.com/amp/how-to/most-common-iphone-viruses
  
  And then an article about malware from iOS store - for now hoping it's not click bait, I'll read it after work
  
  https://lifehacker.com/great-now-the-apple-app-store-has-malware-too-1849386738

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