2024-01-24 12:12:08
By Aaron Tilley, Salvador Rodriguez, Sam Schechner and Kim Mackrael
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)–Apple plans to introduce new fees and download restrictions on its iPhones and iPads, according to sources in Europe. The group is thus responding to the new rules of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to which it must allow software downloads from third-party providers outside of its app store. Apple must implement the new rules for so-called sideloading by March 7th.
According to the people informed, Apple will reserve the right to review any app that is downloaded outside of the store. The group also plans to charge fees from developers who offer downloads outside of the App Store. The planned fees and restrictions might lead to new tensions between the company and app developers. However, Apple has not yet announced these plans and they might still change, according to the informants.
The company has always defended its policy of controlling downloads via the App Store by arguing that this is necessary to keep the iPhone safe and relatively virus-free. Critics, however, have described Apple’s app ecosystem as anti-competitive.
Companies like Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Spotify and Microsoft are already preparing download options for their customers. Meta is considering a system that would allow users to download apps directly from Facebook ads. Spotify plans to offer its users the ability to download some of its iPhone apps directly from its website. Microsoft has considered launching its own app store for third-party games in the past.
The European Commission passed the Digital Markets Act in 2022 to curb the market power of larger technology companies.
Contact the author: Unternehmer.de@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 24, 2024 07:12 AM ET (12:12 GMT)
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