DMA and Apple
#63 · 2024-02-28 (updated 2024-03-06) · AppleThe Digital Markets Act is the EU’s law to make the markets in the digital sector fairer and more contestable.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) establishes a set of clearly defined objective criteria to identify “gatekeepers”. Gatekeepers are large digital platforms providing so called core platform services, such as for example online search engines, app stores, messenger services. Gatekeepers will have to comply with the do’s (i.e. obligations) and don’ts (i.e. prohibitions) listed in the DMA.
— Source
Apple is trying to "comply" with the DMA by being even more anti-user than before. They are making both third-party app stores and other browser engines as painful to use as possible. And in addition they are killing Progressive Web Apps on iOS to keep their own App Store the only viable option. That is obviously not in the interest of the DMA at all.
If Apple wants to ruin user trust and face penalties from the EU, they should continue with this nonsense. iOS is not a decent platform anymore. Apple has proven that they are actively user-hostile, and they are looking for a conflict with the EU. Let the DMA win.
- https://infrequently.org/series/browser-choice-must-matter
- https://infrequently.org/2024/02/home-screen-advantage/
- https://open-web-advocacy.org/blog/owa-review-apple-dma-compliance-for-web/
- https://open-web-advocacy.org/blog/its-official-apple-kills-web-apps-in-the-eu/
- https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/26/24052067/mozilla-apple-ios-browser-rules-firefox
Update 2024-03-05, 2024-03-06: It seems Apple got too much—well deserved—negative press on this. They reversed their course and do not want to kill Progressive Web Apps anymore. But they still want to cripple them by forcing PWAs to build on WebKit. Hence, they are and will continue to be severely lacking as WebKit has been notoriously bad at PWAs for years. And that is entirely on purpose. Apple being Apple continues to spit into the face of the EU Commission.