Apple could be banned from preinstalling apps on iOS in Europe, according to the FT.
New legislation from the European Union could force the company to remove its default apps – everything from Messages to Maps – and offer consumers the option of choosing them or rival third-party offerings, which would level the playing field but hurt consumers.
“The draft recommends that Big Tech might be prohibited from favoritism of their own services on their websites or platforms, to the hinderance of competitors, which business ought to not be enabled to pre-install their own applications on hardware gadgets, such as laptop computers or phones, or force other business to solely pre-install their software application,” the Financial Times report reads, confirming the European Union’s intentions.
“Separately, Brussels desires big platforms to let users uninstall any pre-installed apps on gadgets such as mobile phones and computers, according to the draft, which remains in its early phases,” it added.
Apple bundles iPhones with a number of pre-installed apps, many of which cannot be removed from the device. Apple made some changes in iOS 11 that allows users to remove apps like Maps and Calendar, but the apps still technically live on users’ devices.
The company made even greater changes earlier in the year with the launch of iOS 14, which allows users to change their default apps for services such as browsing and emails.
“Earlier this month, Thierry Breton, the French commissioner for the internal market, informed the Financial Times that the EU was preparing a blacklist of behaviours that so-called gatekeeper platforms would be required to eliminate from their service practices.” the FT report continued. “So-called gatekeeper platforms, those business that wield substantial power since they run the websites or markets that others utilize to operate, ought to just be able to utilize the data they gather for narrow functions.”
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