The US administration does things that protect the interests of the American people, the EU administration does things that protects the interests of European citizens. When American citizens get ripped off by foreign companies they demand the US administration does something about it but when the EU does the same for it's citizens and it involves US companies suddenly the EU is the bad guy. Hypocrisy at it's best.
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EU Questions Apple on Fraud Prevention After Forcing Support for Riskier App Distribution
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A more demonstratable hypocrisy is when a situation is created by the actions of one group and that group calls complaints and negative observations about it hypocrisy. The EU regulatory authorities excel at it even more so than the Americans do.
It would be wise to stop holding all Americans responsible for Trump and the actions of himself and the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 conspiracy. Most of those who voted for him were swindled by the master con man. The bumbling fools of the opposition party certainly helped bring about the mess.
MR reporting making EU evil: this time linking Apple App Store scam apps to the requirement of third party App Store requirement where there is no such link.
One is matter consumer safety and the second is about consumer choice. Too difficult to grasp for MR reporters? The FUD about 6% fine is just below par and out of context. You seem to want MR to be polarising when the world is in dire need to cool down and find consensus.
Be sure the third party App Stores will get the same request from EC. The bureaucrats will ensure that with utmost efficacy.
One is matter consumer safety and the second is about consumer choice. Too difficult to grasp for MR reporters? The FUD about 6% fine is just below par and out of context. You seem to want MR to be polarising when the world is in dire need to cool down and find consensus.
Be sure the third party App Stores will get the same request from EC. The bureaucrats will ensure that with utmost efficacy.
Any evidence for this statement? Please consider all sectors and just not the IT sector in your investigation.
There has been many examples of Apple permitting scam apps in their app store. If you are going to advertise that your store is safe then do the work to make it secure.
What concerns me more is that the issues facing EU users also affect US users but yet the US authorities are not banging on the door of US tech companies telling them they must do more to protect US users from scams and fraud instead it is the EU doing it. The result of this is that US citizens go about complaining the EU is attacking US tech companies and yet these tech companies are not doing enough to protect US citizens. Maybe US citizens are happy to allow their US tech companies to scam them and defraud them. Well the EU is not hence why they are doing what they are doing.
You make a reasonable point. However, you are way far off base when you infer that, for US users, this about US government not doing enough to protect US users. That is true and it is driven by a corrupt political system that is for sale to the highest bidder, but ...
What you dismiss that is true without any doubt, is that the EU as represented by regulatory authorities, is attacking US tech companies very aggressively over matters that have absolutely nothing to do with app and App Store security. They are also attempting to balance budgets and pay for their pet social projects on the backs of US tech companies. Additionally, they are trying to control competition and subsidize incompetence through excessive taxation.
Has anyone ever explored the reasons just about none of the large, successful tech companies started in the EU and achieved success before branching overseas to North America, South America and Asia? Are EU regulators attempting remedy strategic and capital formation errors in geopolitical decisions that contributed to the lack of comparable EU success in this arena?
The US users and American authorities unhappiness with EU regulators goes far beyond the topics covered in this article. And just so you know, not a shred of this has to do with support for Trump's corrupt agenda and attacks on freedom. Most Americans regardless of political affiliation or ideological beliefs have the same opinion of the EU regulatory environment.
I'm sure you believe that, however Google thinks otherwise
Google will verify Android developers distributing apps outside the Play store
No more anonymity for Android developers.
www.theverge.com
Pretty much same process as Apple, Apple's developer EU DSA act documents are a good read. This link is for users, I don't know if linking Apple's developer pages are ok or not. Probably are...
Installing apps through alternative app distribution in the European Union - Apple Support
If you’re based in the European Union, you can install apps from sources other than the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
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Even with sideloading, Apple still controls the App Store, which will remain the dominant distribution channel for most users. Fraudulent banking or crypto apps can still slip into Apple’s store, so scrutiny remains fair.
The EU's investigation is about the App Store. Not about third party stores. NOBODY said that's Apple's fault if there's scams in there.
Apple is:
A) Trying to distract us from what the actual matter was.
B) Attacking the EU once again for letting people distribute apps without a quite literal Apple tax.
About the second point, Apple has proven to the world that they didn't actually care about the safety, they just wanted the money from people distributing apps: that's why they allowed "unsafe" stores but tried to keep forcing even them to give them a share of what they earned (before the EU told them they, of course, couldn't).
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No it’s not.
For certain premium Android phones, Google is going to require an app’s developer to be registered with them before they can be sideloaded, because Google sees 50x more malware coming from sideloaded apps. But they’re not “ending sideloading”.
A new layer of security for certified Android devices
Starting in 2026 and in select countries first, Android apps must be registered to a verified developer in order to be installed.
So both the headline and the article are – in my opinion – biased. A connection is obviously being made between ‘fraud prevention’ and ‘Support of App Distribution’.
Which is completely wrong, of course!
The fraud cases explicitly concern the - According to Apple - secure and trustworthy Apple App Store.
And as you can see from the comments, the majority of people don't even bother to read the article.
Instead, they immediately attack the EU, which wants to protect YOU, the user of the App Store, from fraud.
Congratulations, dear editorial team. Learning from Trump means learning to win.
It's unbelievable how Macrumors reports on the EU to its own detriment.
Which is completely wrong, of course!
The fraud cases explicitly concern the - According to Apple - secure and trustworthy Apple App Store.
And as you can see from the comments, the majority of people don't even bother to read the article.
Instead, they immediately attack the EU, which wants to protect YOU, the user of the App Store, from fraud.
Congratulations, dear editorial team. Learning from Trump means learning to win.
It's unbelievable how Macrumors reports on the EU to its own detriment.
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Stop believing Apple's propaganda or MacRumors' distortions.
The EU is explicitly investigating the Apple App Store for not doing enough to combat fraud.
You're remembering? This "safe and trustworthy" place controlled alone by Apple.
Well... the cases of fraud are now so frequent that they can no longer be dismissed as ‘accidental’.
This is false. They're not explicitly investigating the Apple for "not doing enough to combat fraud." They are:
That doesn't mean they think Apple isn't doing enough, and it isn't specifically targeted at Apple. For all you know they'll come back and say "Apple is doing a great job, but Android needs to do more to combat scam apps."
It's also an irrefutable fact that the EC has opened up its citizens to more fraud via the DMA. I'm glad they're looking into it now, but they absolutely have made it easier to scam their citizens by forcing the App Store open.
You're not from the US, are you?
People in that country live under the belief that the state and every customer protection is the enemy.
Their entire news world consists of lies and propaganda from corporations.
What Apple is releasing here as a press release to lie to its own users is completely normal in the American media.
In the USA, the media and corporations (which often belong together) have actually managed to make citizens reject everything that could protect them from illness, financial loss or loss of freedom.
And no, I'm not talking about politics here. These article is a great example of news in the US.
Is it okay to steal from the Americans?
Or, are these 3 companies not allowing that for the Americans?
The second message is that internet posters often have more of an agenda than big companies.
If you had read the article and the comments properly, you would know that I am referring explicitly to the claim that the EU is supposedly taking action against fraud committed by alternative app stores. And to the comments insisting that this would not have happened with the Apple App Store alone.
My statement is absolutely correct. Don't distract with Android and Co. when the article and comments are factually only about Apple.
This is also a false claim, which can be described as a lie in light of the reports published by Macrumors.
As things stand today, there are effectively no alternative app stores.
Apple claims the opposite in order to distract attention from its App Store and the fraud that takes place there.
Yes, legally speaking, there may be ‘alternatives’. In practice, however, there is nothing to be found there because Apple prevents competitors from entering the market by charging fees.
So, once again:
When we talk about the Apple world, these ‘investigations’ by the EU only concern the Apple App Store.
Apple and you claim that there are ‘alternative stores’, but in fact they are as relevant as PalmOS is to mobile phones.
Is it okay to steal from the Americans?
Or, are these 3 companies not allowing that for the Americans?
It's absurd what's going on with you guys.
When the EU tries to protect its citizens from the fraud that is commonplace in the Apple App Store, everyone cries ‘Censorship! Let Apple do what they want.’
But when the EU sticks to the rules – i.e. only deals with its own territory – then everyone asks, ‘Why aren't the Americans being protected?’
To answer your question:
Yes, because the American government, both at the federal level and in the individual states, doesn't care at all. Complete freedom of the market, as Trump always says.
Yes, you are confused. You seem to think that EU is asking Apple about safety of the alternative app stores EU mandated. They are not. They are asking about safety of the App Store Apple owns and operates. It’s up to Apple to police fraudulent apps in their own App Store.
It's not distraction. The source article doesn't say "EU investigating Apple for Scam Apps on App Store." It says they are asking for information on "Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Booking.com". It's not a targeted investigation because they think Apple isn't doing enough on the App Store.
There's a reason Android has significantly more malware than iOS. Sideloading and third party stores are absolutely worse for users' safety and security. That's why Google is taking steps to make it harder for bad actors to sideload. Meanwhile, the EC in their never-ending wisdom is trying to force that model onto iPhone users, and Apple is right to push back as hard as they can.
Again, EU made Apple users in the EU less safe. Just because not many people are taking them up on that (as predicted) doesn't make it less true.