DMA and default iOS browsers

In light of DMA developments, I hear that Apple not following “the spirit” of the law and doesn’t allow competition in the App Store marketplace. According to the regulators, being the sole distributor of the entire market, Apple doesn’t allow competition.

As an indie developer, I couldn’t care less about outside App Store distribution. And as a full-time contractor for a big company, I don’t see how adding additional distribution channels outside of the App Store, will help my team deliver better user experience.

I would like to ask EU citizens to write to their representatives and ask them why the EU is doing nothing about the Google Chrome monopoly. Many people suffering already from worse privacy. Google Chrome is heavily advertised in the EU on TV and other channels. Apple does not advertise Safari security aspects on a scale which Google does. DMA makes the situation much worse because now EU users are presented with a browser choice during the initial setup. EU users likely will pick Google Chrome, wrongly assuming, it offers superior security. EU unintentionally leads to a situation where a general population starts assuming that Google Chrome offers superior security over Safari. Google Chrome has a dominant user base already which for yours truly sometimes causes websites not to work properly since web developers only test their websites to work on Google Chrome. Let’s fix that, EU.

My takeaways.

• EU terms are vague and usually followed by “behind the door” negotiations.
• EU regulations can only bring positive results when aimed at the non-tech industry.
• True EU motivations are not the best intentions for EU citizens.
• EU lawmakers are motivated by 5% of global Apple revenue.