Apple Torpeder Sideloading: EU Commission sees further DMA violations

Apple must open iOS and iPados more consistently or count on another punishment. In parallel to the imposition of the first penalty payment under the digital markets Act of 500 million euros against Apple, the EU Commission immediately creeped up the next serious violations on Wednesday: The iPhone group has built targeted hurdles that make direct installation of apps and app stores from the web as untracture as possible. This was shared by the EU Commission in its preliminary findings as part of an ongoing investigation. Apple now has time to react to the allegations and to improve them.

iPhone-sideloading possible, but complicated

Apple iOS and iPados are forced to open in the EU, but only gradually and with obvious reluctance. For a year now, iPhone users have been able to install other app stores in the EU, and the download of new iOS apps from websites is also possible-the latter at least on paper. In practice, there is now only around a handful of alternative app stores with a very manageable offer, including the Epic Games Store, Altstore Pal and Setapp. Nobody seems to offer direct sideloading of individual apps from a developer website.

The reasons for the low distribution are obvious. The direct installation of apps and app stores is uncomfortable: users have to process a double-digit number of steps, including changing settings and confirming warning. This is “excessive and confusing for end users,” stated the EU Commission.

The competitive keepers also criticize the contractual conditions and requirements for developers who want to drive their apps directly in this way. You are forced to accept controversial new terms and conditions with a “Core Technology Fee”, in which Apple charges fees after app downloads. Apple also set “exaggerated strict admission requirements”, according to the Commission. Developers who want to make apps on their website to download must already drive an extremely popular app in the App Store and paid for Apple’s development operations for more than two years and also have an “impeccable call”-whether the latter applies, Apple decides. These measures of the group are neither “strictly necessary nor appropriate” and violations of the digital markets act, is the preliminary statement.

Other EU investigation against Apple

At the same time, however, the regulators were satisfied with Apple’s changes in browser selection dialogues and the more extensive options for deleting Apple apps and changing standard apps to iPhones and iPads-an examination was discontinued.

Extremely high punishments are at risk of violations of the digital markets act. As was shown on Wednesday, these should actually be rather small for the time being, also to avoid further confrontations with the Trump government. Nevertheless, Apple has to react to it and adapt the contractual conditions. The announcements are another example of the “EU Commission Apple unfairly targeted,” said the company in a statement. The decisions are “bad for data protection and security of our users” and “bad for products”.