Apple Files Legal Challenge Against EU Law as Sideloading Requirement Looms

Apple today filed a legal challenge against the European Union's Digital Markets Act ahead of the impending requirement to enable app sideloading on its devices (via Reuters).

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect on November 1, 2022, requires "gatekeeper" companies to open up their services and platforms to other companies and developers. The DMA will have a significant impact on Apple's platforms and it could result in the company being forced to make major changes to the ‌App Store‌, Messages, FaceTime, Siri, and more. For example, Apple will be obliged to enable users to "sideload" apps from outside the ‌App Store‌. The company appears to have already put preparations in place to acquiesce to this demand in early 2024.

Apple's new legal case takes issue with specific decisions taken by the European Commission under the DMA, but the exact details of the challenge have not yet been publicized. The case is expected to include an argument against the ‌App Store‌ being included on the EU's list of gatekeeper platforms, which requires app sideloading to be an option to allow users to avoid the ‌App Store‌ if they wish. In a statement at the time, Apple told Bloomberg, "We remain very concerned about the privacy and data security risks the DMA poses for our users." Meta and TikTok have filed similar appeals disputing the European Commission's inclusion of their services.

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