Michelle ThompsonThe decision complies with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act and will open up the iPhone and iPad App Stores in Europe to competitors.
For the first time in the company’s history, Apple, based in the United States, has announced that third-party app stores will be allowed in Europe.
The move will allow competitors to access the firm’s iPhone and iPad App Store in Europe, marking a significant departure from the company’s long-standing strategy of controlling program distribution on its devices.
“For developers, the changes include new options for app distribution and payment processing,” Apple said in a statement Thursday. “For users, the changes include new controls and disclosures, and expanded protections to reduce privacy and security risks the DMA creates.”
The decision is the consequence of compliance with the European Union’s (EU) Digital Markets Act, which entered into effect in November 2022 to ensure higher and fairer competition in Europe, with the goal of preventing giant enterprises from abusing market dominance while allowing new companies to enter the digital industry.
Apple also announced features such as over 600 new application programming interfaces, expanded app analytics, support for alternative browser engines, and methods for handling app payments and distributing iOS apps.
Apple warned that the changes present possible dangers for users regarding payment processing and app download options on iOS, which might lead to malware, fraud and scams, unlawful and dangerous content, and other privacy and security problems.
It stated that the additional capabilities will be available to consumers in all 27 EU nations commencing in March of this year.
