Last week, Apple made a variety of announcements about changes coming to the App Store and iPhone in the European Union. Apple is making these changes because it has to comply with the Digital Markets Act, and a new interview with Apple Fellow Phil Schiller makes it clear that Apple has major concerns about the changes.
In an interview with Fast Company, Schiller acknowledged that changes such as alternative app marketplaces and in-app purchase options mean there are new choices for developers. Those choices, however, come with risks.
“These new regulations, while they bring new options for developers, also bring new risks. There’s no getting around that. So we’re doing everything we can to minimize those risks for everyone,” Schiller explained.
Third-party app marketplaces will also open the iPhone up to content that Apple previously didn’t allow. “Ultimately, there are things that we have not allowed on our App Store—things that we didn’t think would be safe or appropriate,” Schiller told Fast Company. “It will not be our decision whether those other marketplaces have the same terms and limitations.”
He continued to explain how this increases the risk for users:
For more than 15 years, Schiller says, “we have dealt with a lot of input from families, from governments, on things that we need to do to try to either not allow certain kinds of objectionable content on our App Store, or give users control over that experience to decide what’s best for themselves—and we have rules around that,” Schiller says. “Those rules will not apply in another marketplace unless they choose to make rules of their own, [with] whatever criteria they come up with. Does that increase the risk of users, and families, running into objectionable content or other experiences? Yes, it does.”
In particular, Schiller worries about apps that will only be available from third-party app marketplaces. “Those situations will force many users into having to say ‘okay’ to marketplaces without knowing a lot about them,” Schiller said.
The full interview is definitely worth checking out and can be found at Fast Company.
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