Europe warns Apple on security and competition

Providing good security to its customers does not mean that competition should not be topical at Apple, says Margrethe Vestager. The European Commissioner for Competition judges that the iPhone maker has been using questionable practices since anti-trust cases.

Opening iOS doesn’t have to mean weakening security

Several countries or regions, including Europe and the United States, have investigated Apple and its potentially anti-competitive practices with the App Store. The fact that Apple forces users to install applications from its App Store and does not allow the use of a payment method other than its own disturbs. Apple says it does all of this to ensure good security for its users. But for Margrethe Vestager, this speech is not good.

“I think privacy and security are of utmost importance to everyone”, said the European Commissioner to Reuters. “The important thing here is, of course, that this is not a shield against the competition, because I believe that customers will not forgo security or privacy if they use another store. ‘applications or if they sideloadent[installer une application hors de l’App Store]”, she added. According to her, a solution can be found to open iOS without weakening security.

Margrethe Vestager also indicates that the anti-tracking function in place since iOS 14.5 is a good thing because it gives the user a choice:

Like I said, I actually think many times, it’s a good thing when providers offer us the service where we can easily set our preferences if we want to be tracked outside of using an app. or not, as long as it is the same for everyone. So far, we have no reason to believe that this is not the case for Apple.

Apple offers the choice to the user here, who can accept or decline the tracking. For the download of applications, this choice does not exist: it is the App Store and nowhere else.