14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is gradually opening up its walled garden and allowing developers to do more on its platforms, but the European Union could force the Cupertino-based tech giant to make a change that it certainly won’t like.
More specifically, the Financial Times writes that the European Commission is currently looking into new regulations that would be released under a so-called Digital Services Act that would force devices sold on the continent to come without pre-loaded first-party apps.
The move is supposed to help smaller companies compete against tech giants, and could eventually require Apple to no longer pre-loaded its apps on iPhones and provide users with more alternatives.
If this sounds familiar to you, Google is probably the company that can tell Apple how the whole thing needs to be done. The Mountain View-based search giant has recently been required to offer a search engine choice screen on Android devices, as the European Commission wants Google search to no longer be offered as the default search engine on its smartphones.
European Commission and Apple already in legal war
A similar thing could happen on smartphones sold in Europe too, including on iPhones, so theoretically, Apple would be forced to provide users with multiple app choices when setting up a new device.
Needless to say, the new set of regulations is still in the draft stage and there’s a good chance it would still be further tweaked before it reaches its final form.
But on the other hand, the European Commission seems less willing these days to accept the domination of tech giants on the Old Continent. The Commission is already fighting against Apple in court over a $14.8 billion tax that the company was asked to pay, with the case currently waiting for a decision at the European Court of Justice.