EU tech chief warns Apple to not use privacy as an excuse to stifle competition

Apple is under alot of pressure to allow an alternative app store on iOS called sideloading. The Cupertino tech giant strongly opposes sideloading for it will threaten users’ security and privacy by giving unchecked access to all types of developers to their smartphones. But unsatisfied with Apple’s reason, European Commission’s tech chief Margrethe Vestager warned the Cupertino tech giant not to use “privacy and security concerns to fend off competition on its App Store.”

EU Chief says Apple should not use privacy as an excuse to oppose sideloading on iOS

Developers and regulators object to Apple’s control of apps distribution and in-app purchases share cut All apps on the iOS App Store go through a review process for approval; every app is reviewed by a human and scanned for malware before going live on the digital market. Then it is ranked according to users reviews and five-star ratings. The company deems this process as a necessary step to ensure that no malicious software makes its way on users’ devices. Therefore, it uses the commission charged for all in-app purchases on the maintenance and growth of the App Store services.

In her interview with Reuters, Vestager said that;

“I think privacy and security is of paramount importance to everyone. The important thing here is, of course, that it’s not a shield against competition, because I think customers will not give up neither security nor privacy if they use another app store or if they sideload.”

However, she also accepted that users will not give up on their privacy. and expressed willingness to listen to changes in her proposal to find a solution to the issue at hand. She further added that the EU was not raising concerns over the new privacy changes, especially the App Tracking Transparency feature.

As I have said, I think actually several times, that it is a good thing when providers give us the service that we can easily set our preferences if we want to be tracked outside the use of an app or not as long as it’s the same condition for everyone. So far, we have no reason to believe that this is not the case for Apple.”