U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Another Antitrust Bill That Would Allow Sideloading on iPhone

[MacRumors]

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the bipartisan Open App Markets Act, an antitrust bill that would allow for alternative app stores and alternative in-app payment systems on the iPhone. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for a vote.

Apple had urged the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the bill, arguing that sideloading would pose privacy and security risks for customers.

"Sideloading would enable bad actors to evade Apple's privacy and security protections by distributing apps without critical privacy and security checks. These provisions would allow malware, scams and data-exploitation to proliferate," said Apple's government affairs head Tim Powderly in a letter sent to the Committee earlier this week.

Last month, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, another antitrust bill that would allow sideloading and which Apple spoke out against, citing the same privacy and security risks.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1489273683155861506

Article Link: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Another Antitrust Bill That Would Allow Sideloading on iPhone

 

[DHagan4755]

The U.S. Congress is a privacy & security risk. Maybe we should reject them? That aside, Apple's arguments are moot considering they allow side loading on the Mac.

Edit: Apple also allows alternate app stores on the Mac.

 

[4jasontv]

The U.S. Congress is a privacy & security risk. Maybe we should reject them? That aside, Apple's arguments are moot considering they allow side loading on the Mac.

Edit: Apple also allows alternate app stores on the Mac.

Yeah! And what’s up with Nissan not including a hitch on the LEAF when they let us tow an RV with the Frontier?!

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Just give users an option to download from the App Store-only or anywhere, like on a Mac. Put up about five warning screens (maybe seven for good luck). Done!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is just sad. Third-party app stores sound like a great way to get the malware. Say goodbye to privacy and security.

Our privacy will be on the line and we will be exposed to the malware. I really hope Apple will find a way to stop this. The government should really stay out of this.

 

[cdarlington1]

They do allow sideloading on the mac. They don't want it on the iPhone or iPad. It's their decision. Hopefully this goes nowhere.

 

[antiprotest]

If this goes through the next committee will be about how Apple fails to protect users from malware due to the side loading.

 

[I7guy]

The U.S. Congress is a privacy & security risk. Maybe we should reject them? That aside, Apple's arguments are moot considering they allow side loading on the Mac.

Edit: Apple also allows alternate app stores on the Mac.

Yup. First Tuesday in November.

 

[jz0309]

Not a good day for consumers… politicians at their best - useless as usual…

 

[DHagan4755]

They do allow sideloading on the mac. They don't want it on the iPhone or iPad. It's their decision. Hopefully this goes nowhere.

Hopefully it goes nowhere because Congress mucks things up. Inasmuch as Apple's arguments are silly, I trust Apple more than I trust Congress.

 

[DHagan4755]

Just give users an option to download from the App Store-only or anywhere, like on a Mac. Put up about five warning screens (maybe seven for good luck). Done!

App Store or identified developers.

 

[genovelle]

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the bipartisan Open Markets Act, an antitrust bill that would allow for sideloading and alternate app stores. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for a vote.

Apple had urged the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the bill, arguing that sideloading would pose privacy and security risks for customers.

More details to follow…

Article Link: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Another Antitrust Bill That Would Allow Sideloading

This is going to force Apple to stop investing heavily into the App Store. They should tell these congressmen the unvarnished truth. If they decrease profitability of their platform they will stop investing in it or start charging all developers for access whether their app is free or not based on the number of Apple API calls per month. Many of the small developers will close and the Epics and Microsofts of the world will be able to charge what they want because they won’t have to compete with the little guys anymore. It’ll be like the old days for them. Just what they want.

 

[mrat93]

They do allow sideloading on the mac. They don't want it on the iPhone or iPad. It's their decision. Hopefully this goes nowhere.

when did it become “sideloading” on the Mac? when the Mac App Store came out, was everything else “sideloading”?

 

[laurim]

Yeah! And what’s up with Nissan not including a hitch on the LEAF when they let us tow an RV with the Frontier?!

Odd analogy. I’d actually love a hitch on my Leaf, not to tow an RV but to be able to bring a few sheets of drywall home from Home Depot

 

[dguisinger]

This is going to force Apple to stop investing heavily into the App Store. They should tell these congressmen the unvarnished truth. If they decrease profitability of their platform they will stop investing in it or start charging all developers for access whether their app is free or not based on the number of Apple API calls per month. Many of the small developers will close and the Epics and Microsofts of the world will be able to charge what they want because they won’t have to compete with the little guys anymore. It’ll be like the old days for them. Just what they want.

They are investing heavily into the App store now? What innovations has it had in the last 10 years? Better yet, have they improved their working relationships with developers who got a run around on why they were getting rejected? Last I heard, developers are still getting rejected for things as stupid as someone at Apple typed in the wrong username/password for the test account the developer gave them, and instead of trying again, they reject the app update. Or how about all the fake scam apps that look like the originals they are trying to dupe people into subscribing for? We know they exist, there are stories about them almost every week. Innovation wise, the App Store in my opinion has been a failure. They just milk the gullible for all they are worth before these laws get implemented.

 

[jz0309]

This is just sad. Third-party app stores sound like a great way to get the malware. Say goodbye to privacy and security.

Our privacy will be on the line and we will be exposed to the malware. I really hope Apple will find a way to stop this. The government should really stay out of this.

Remember this next time you vote

 

[Amazing Iceman]

This is just sad. Third-party app stores sound like a great way to get the malware. Say goodbye to privacy and security.

Our privacy will be on the line and we will be exposed to the malware. I really hope Apple will find a way to stop this. The government should really stay out of this.

If this is happening, I want to be able to Sideload to a Tesla, Prius, Mazda, Ecobee, etc.

I want to be able to install whatever firmware I want on my vehicles and devices without voiding my warranty.

 

[jmgregory1]

I can’t wait until I can buy Walmart branded products at Target. I’d also like to get an Impossible Whopper at McDonalds.

 

[Spock]

I think what Apple will need to do is limit access to the core of iOS that third parties are able to access. A litter-box separated from the house that can be easily cleaned of crap when needed. Now, to play devils advocate.. The ability to do whatever you want on iOS like Android may be an undocumented selling point. Now I will be able to have emulators and things like that on my iPhone that Apple blocks.

 

[el-John-o]

Apple's privacy and security arguments are valid; but the motivation for making the argument is profit. They want to control the experience to keep extracting their fees.

Apple's publisher fees are a fraction of what fees were for traditional software publishing back in the day. When a publisher would take 50-60%, or even more, for software that was sold in boxes and distributed through retailers. And the retailer still got their cut! Selling a piece of software for $30 and making a couple of bucks for each copy wasn't uncommon. When the App store was first released, that 30% cut was celebrated. And that's what happens. People get used to it, and then want more.

I find myself fairly torn. This is Apple's platform that they've built. Is it a monopoly? Kind of? Except that there really is healthy competition. Consumers can choose excellent Android devices that allow sideloading. Even jailbreaking has significantly lost interest to consumers. Consumers don't appear to be foaming at the mouth to sideload apps; though many would if given the opportunity.

My biggest concern from a consumer standpoint is that all of the businesses demanding "choice" now won't offer it to consumers once one of these goes through. Once Apple can no longer force companies to use the App store for purchases, we may be back to the way things used to be. You had to go to a specific website to buy a specific app and download it. Apps in the app store may actually STOP allowing IAP, and force consumers to another site when you click the button to buy through a third party processor that charges less. Not all apps will do this; plenty will recognize that the convenience of the app store drives up sales. But big apps like Netflix and others will; because there's enough consumer demand that consumers will be willing to go through that extra step. Consumers won't even be given the choice of using the App stores own payment processing.

 

[el-John-o]

I think what Apple will need to do is limit access to the core of iOS that third parties are able to access. A litter-box separated from the house that can be easily cleaned of crap when needed. Now, to play devils advocate.. The ability to do whatever you want on iOS like Android may be an undocumented selling point. Now I will be able to have emulators and things like that on my iPhone that Apple blocks.

Yep.

Would LOVE to be able to install emulators on my M1 iPad Pro. Or, if such access were granted; the ability to sideload macOS onto an M1 iPad Pro! (A guy can dream!)

 

[paradox00]

Yeah! And what’s up with Nissan not including a hitch on the LEAF when they let us tow an RV with the Frontier?!

The iPhone is quite dissimilar from an underpowered car. Analogy doesn't fit, but they rarely do.

 

[FNH15]

One time where I’m glad Manchin & Sinema don’t vote as Democrats.
I’d expect this to face stiff opposition in the Senate.

If one wants a subpar experience with gaping security holes, there’s a robot-named OS by another company based in CA...

 

[ksec]

Not pulling out of US? Macrumors?

 

[4jasontv]

They are investing heavily into the App store now? What innovations has it had in the last 10 years? Better yet, have they improved their working relationships with developers who got a run around on why they were getting rejected? Last I heard, developers are still getting rejected for things as stupid as someone at Apple typed in the wrong username/password for the test account the developer gave them, and instead of trying again, they reject the app update. Or how about all the fake scam apps that look like the originals they are trying to dupe people into subscribing for? We know they exist, there are stories about them almost every week. Innovation wise, the App Store in my opinion has been a failure. They just milk the gullible for all they are worth before these laws get implemented.

Yeah! And why haven’t we seen innovation from Walmart either. What’s up with that? What has Walmart done to stock more defective items and exclude low cost versions of brand name products? Walmart retail, in my opinion has been a failure. They just milk the gullible for all they are worth.