Europe sees tricks through Apple’s App Store

Apple uses many tricks to preserve its own ecosystem, but according to Europe, the well-known App Store rhetoric is nonsense.

Apple gets a slap on the fingers of Europe. The App Store is Apple’s brainchild and a cornerstone of its signature ecosystem. But Apple uses some cunning rhetoric to mainly push its own content in the apparently openly accessible virtual store. One of those deceptive tricks was to rank your own apps highly. The excuse of privacy and security is also a well-known trick of the iPhone maker.

Apple’s App Store Tricks

That is why European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager gives the tech giant a slap on the wrist. According to her, Tim Cook invariably uses privacy and quality as an excuse to keep the ecosystem closed. Users are not allowed to install third-party apps; according to Apple, that is for the protection of users.

Vestager does not need to hear about that, she explains to Reuters. Apple would mainly use this trick to keep competitors out.

The important thing here is of course that [Apple] should not use it to fend off competitors. I don’t think consumers will just let their privacy and security go anyway, even if they are allowed to use a different app store or sideload apps.

European Commissioner Vestager on Apple

Apple is, of course, notorious when it comes to shielding the ecosystem for iPhones, among others. Users are not allowed to use other virtual stores or sideload apps through websites. That simply describes installing third-party apps through a different route.

The European Commissioner is not only critical of Apple; for example, they praise the multi-billion dollar company for the recent privacy settings the brand introduced. Ultimately, the goal of criticizing Apple’s privacy cover is to create new laws that serve consumers.

Also read: Apple is finally (sort of) opening up Find My to others