Following new European Union regulations, Apple is altering its app store to comply with rules that are designed to open up the digital market - which a few powerful tech companies have long controlled.
The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which goes into effect on Thursday, is expected to cause some of the most significant alterations to the App Store since Apple first introduced it in 2008. People residing in the European Union are expected to be able to download apps from third-party app stores and will have more payment options than previously available, according to the Associated Press.
Some app developers have praised the policy change - which will give them greater flexibility in distributing their products and charging customers, according to the Washington Post.
Apple itself, however, has expressed reservations about opening up what is referred to as its digital garden.
"The changes the DMA requires will inevitably cause a gap between the protections that Apple users outside of the EU can rely on and the protections available to users in the EU moving forward," Apple warned in a 32-page report.
The report repeatedly cites concerns about an increased risk of malware, as well as the distribution of content that is restricted from the App Store - like pornography and apps that encourage drug and alcohol consumption.
Apple's critics claim that many of these concerns are overblown and that the company is deliberately trying to "muddy the waters" by conflating device management with third-party app purchasing.
"Apple's App Store is not a proxy for corporate data security - apps within it regularly send data to insecure cloud servers, to hidden third-party trackers and much more," digital regulation expert Michael Veale told the Associated Press.
Other tech companies - including Fortnite creator Epic Games - have already aimed at Apple's approach to meeting DMA regulations. Epic wanted to launch a games store for iPhone users but Apple prevented them from doing so.
"Rather than creating healthy competition and new choices, Apple's new terms will erect new barriers and reinforce Apple's stronghold over the iPhone ecosystem," reads a letter from Epic Games, Spotify and several other tech companies to the European Commission.
"In the absence of materially different proposals from Apple, we urge the European Commission to take swift, timely and decisive action against Apple, to protect developers and benefit consumers and do so as soon as the DMA obligations apply."
