It seems that we will soon return to Apple's conflict with the European Union over the App Store, which Apple strongly rejects - see this linkThe European Union is set to introduce new legislation as early as this month that will significantly affect how the App Store operates, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The Digital Markets Act has been in development for some time, and a final version that can be completed as soon as this month will allow for sideloading and alternative App Store options. Apple will be required to allow customers in Europe to download apps outside of the App Store, and will allow developers to use alternative purchasing methods.
If Apple does not comply with the law, this could cost it tens of billions of dollars, and Apple's efforts to combat this law have been unsuccessful. Last November, Apple's chief of software engineering, Craig Federigi, said that sideloading imposed by the Digital Markets Act would open the door to malware. Federigi said the legislation "eliminates the possibility of choosing a platform that is the safest."
In a statement provided to the Wall Street Journal, Apple shared the same sentiment.
Governments and international agencies around the world have explicitly advised against accepting sideloading requirements, which would cripple the privacy and security protections users expect.
European officials have shrugged off Apple's arguments about privacy and security, and in July, the head of EU digital competition, Margrethe Vestager, said Apple should not use privacy excuses to limit competition. “Customers will not compromise on security or privacy if they use another app store or if they sideload,” she said.
The full sideloading clause is not yet finalized into the law, and Apple may be given some space to limit the scope of sideloading. After the bill is completed, it will be approved by Parliament and member states, and will come into effect early next year.
Why Apple opposes sideloading on the iPhone?
Apple last year filed a case against the law in a 31-page memo describing how the move could cripple the "privacy and "security" protections of iPhones. This is not the first time that Apple has defended its position of not allowing apps outside of its App Store or even a third-party app store.
Apple said that sideloading could lead to an increase in cybercrime through malicious apps that would reach users because it would be easier for cybercriminals to target them, whatever the source of those apps.
Sideloading can be useful if the app you want to download and install is not available in your country. The problem with sideloading is that you cannot trust the source from which the app is being downloaded because there is a high chance of introducing malware on your phone.
Apple cites research by cybersecurity provider Kaspersky Lab that showed Android devices have 15 to 47 times more malware infections than iPhones. Apple says, because Android has a weak security mechanism, it supports sideloading.
And in a 16-page research paper titled “Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps: Analyzing the Sideloading Threat,” published last June, Apple said that since downloading apps is possible on Android through third-party app stores, sideloading increases of the risks of transmitting malware to devices. When this report was released, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, called it a "sea of lies," no doubt he would say, as he wants to heal and gloat at Apple.
And if Apple is forced to support sideloading via direct downloads and through third-party app stores, iPhone users will have to constantly check for scams, and have no faith in anything outside Apple's walls, or else the results could be disastrous.
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