The way I see it, EU is falling into Apple’s trap.
Fundamentally the issue aren’t the Apple App Store policies, or App Store policies in general. But the tie between the App Store’s and gatekeeping devices / OS, case in iOS.
The phenomena of the Internet, and its impact on digital services and apps and advances and innovation, stem from one single idea. The democratization of self publishing and self market. Today the technology is there for anyone to be able to publish their app, digital content, provide digital services and selling it lawfully. Technology has evolved to levels to a point cost is no issue to do so. From private internet connections, routers, PCs, down to databases, servers in the cloud you name it, all can be reasonably acquired or hired. People and businesses flocked to this, creating content, new ways to distribute music, video, bank transactions, digital money… you name it. This very premise around self publishing, simply imploded private networks ventures targeting the general population … remember AOL?
What we have here, is a company using the pretext of people buying their devices working at the edge of this vast infrastructure, with such numbers that equal to a siege, to demand a mandatory cut of the value generated by the very fabric of the Internet. It has done this by developing a tie between App / Digital Business Distribution and Sales (App Store) to a device people use to access the Internet, to access and use business services and everyday tools.
What EU should focus for now is not if businesses can freely communicate with their users served by Apps in the Apple App Store or any other store. But effectively create regulations that untie the App Store(s) to the devices and back, any App Store working on top of Gatekeeping devices. Protecting the very notion of Self Publishing and open commerce.
They should have a look at what Apple calls Web Publishing, no way this is DMA compliant. Its all aim to take self publishing abilities out of the Internet and take over the cash registers. The very notion of business property becomes a joke if not a Gatekeeper.
Yes Apple should be payed for their OS/Devices. They are being payed, aren’t they? Just the other day the iPhone sales accounted for 75% of Apple revenue. They should be payed for their APIs m and frameworks … sure. But no way this convoluted policies are about that. Just check how everyone is doing it. From water and electricity supply to cloud services. From internet connections to buying a device. No one is doing this for a reason …
But how can companies of any kind feel compelled to close such a deal then in other circumstances? Here is the loop hole .... You sell to one group of people a device to access the Internet, Its just a smartphone. You know, in that sense similar to any device used previously for such matter. Something that has no direct association with these companies businesses, no direct association to even these companies industries. An empty shell in terms of usefulness per si, just potential to access the Internet. Let's call this group of people, the business customers.
Once these companies customers are using the device they than ask these companies for their cash register if they want to serve their very own customers the way they expect to be served. Lovely isn't it?
The irony of it is that these companies actually believe their are communicating with their customers while never actually selling anything to them (what name is the billing receipt on the subscription, who actually pay in the end this companies, their customers? The middle man is so convincing that actually is able to sell the idea that just a customer name and VAT number on the billing receipt would be a security hazard lolololol) ... ops lost your cash register to someone? Meanwhile, without even selling anything to your customers, you are still liable to everything ... the middle man just magically vanishes out of that equation in those cases ... it is has if does not even existed. This a typical man in the middle attack in security lingo at a massive scale.
A brilliant game of perception.
No, this is not about Apple getting payed for the use of their technology. It’s about a bunch of companies potential control of the digital economy itself trough these terminals at the very edge of the Intenet, things that work on the edge of it all and others to come. Effectively a siege around the Internet and in consequence around any business that it’s connected to it. Suddenly, the potential for a mandatory final Agent to sell a 10kg of potatoes for a family to feed their children is there. Just because it may now charging 0%, once people get used to it for everything else is just a small step. After all without such device … All for nothing but the fact that people bought a device to access the Internet. What a loop hole.
The internal App Store policies in iOS would be irrelevant if a gag wasn’t put by Apple around self publishing. They even rebranded the concept … they call self publishing / market in iOS … side loading. “Well if you put like that is indeed a major security hazard”
Heheheh. Take the example of macOS … the App Store policies are irrelevant there. Why? Because one can freely self publish their App, their digital services, their digital assets.
