Bad news for Apple from the European Union: third-party app stores will be allowed

Bad news for Apple, which has been suffering from legal troubles in recent years, may also come from the European Union. epic v. After the Apple lawsuit and the Dutch sanctions against Apple, Apple is in much bigger trouble.

Third party app stores and payment systems will be allowed

The European Council and European Parliament reached an agreement on the Digital Markets Act last Friday. The new agreement, if realized, will target many technology giants, especially Apple. Under the proposed Act, Apple would have to allow the existence of third-party app stores other than the App Store. In addition, iPads and iPhones will be allowed to install applications from outside the App Store. In addition, developers will not have to use Apple’s commission payment system and will be able to develop their own payment systems. This is the case in Epic v. It was the main subject of the Apple lawsuit.

Apple will also have to allow users to delete existing apps like Safari and assign other apps as built-in apps.

Messaging apps will have to work together

Another important article of the proposed law is about messaging apps. Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage will have to be open to working with smaller messaging platforms. Thus, users of small or large messaging platforms will be able to exchange messages and files and make video calls.

Major sanctions against large companies

According to the proposed law, companies with a value exceeding 75 million Euros, annual sales of 7.5 billion dollars and having at least 45 million monthly users will be considered as “watchdogs” and They will have to follow some rules. Rules that watchers have to follow:

• Users will have the right to unsubscribe from core platform services under conditions similar to subscription.
• Important software such as the browser will not have to come with the operating system.
• The basic features of messaging services will be able to work with other messaging services.
• App developers will be allowed fair access to additional functions of smartphones. (ex: NFC chip)
• Sellers will be given access to marketing or advertising performance data on the platform.
• The European Commission will be informed about acquisitions and mergers.
• They will not rank their own products or services higher than other services.
• Private data collected in one service cannot be used for another service.
• Unfair conditions will not be created for business users.
• Some apps will be banned from being installed.
• App developers will not be required to use certain services to be listed in app stores. (ex: payment systems or identity providers)

If the law is implemented, technology companies in the “guard” category will have to comply with these rules. If they do not comply, they can be fined up to 10% of their total global turnover.

The new bill has not been finalized yet, but after the final approval of the European Parliament and the European Council, technology giants in Europe will have to go through serious changes. After the final approval of the law, companies will be given a period of 6 months. Digital Competition Manager Margrethe Vestager stated that the law could come into effect as early as October.

Apple previously stated that the Digital Service Rules could create unsafe services for users. In the event that the rules are implemented, Apple in particular will have to make major changes to the operation of all its services. Let’s see how the sanctions that the European Union will impose on monopoly companies will affect the technology world.