Apple warns EU draft rules allowing software from outside iOS App Store could bring cybercrime and malware
- The Coalition for App Fairness, including Spotify, Match Group and Epic Games, said built-in measures like encryption and antivirus software protects users
- If the draft rules from the EU are passed, developers could avoid Apple’s 30 per cent cut of sales by using other app stores
But the Coalition for App Fairness, which includes Spotify, Match Group and Epic Games, dismissed Apple’s arguments, saying that built-in security measures such as encrypted data and antivirus programs provide security to devices, not its App Store.
The group wants regulators to loosen Apple’s grip on its App Store so they can bypass it to reach Apple’s hundreds of millions of users and also to avoid paying commissions of up to 30 per cent for purchases made in the Store.
The iPhone maker has been a fierce critic of EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s proposed rules, announced last year in a bid to rein in Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet unit Google.
Building on CEO Tim Cook’s comments in June about the risks to privacy and security of iPhones, Apple on Wednesday published an analysis on the threats of so-called side-loading.
“If Apple were forced to support sideloading, more harmful apps would reach users because it would be easier for cybercriminals to target them – even if sideloading were limited to third-party app stores only,” the report said.
It warned of malicious apps migrating to third-party stores and infecting consumer devices, while users would have less control over downloaded apps.
The study cited figures from cybersecurity services provider Kaspersky Lab which showed nearly six million attacks per month affected Android mobile devices.