Sideloading: EU Warns Apple For Privacy Security

Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition and Digital, wants to prevent the big tech giants from doing what they want. In a conversation with the Reuters news agency, she made a move that allowed interesting perspectives.

Because what Vestager said to Reuters can safely be understood as a warning against Apple no longer using data protection and security concerns to eliminate the competition and forbid users from installing software from outside the Apple Store.

Is Sideloading Bad for Security and Privacy?

Reuters specifically asked for a statement from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who recently reiterated that the proposal for sideloading would destroy the security and privacy of iPhones. Vestager said she shared Cook’s safety concerns. But you can’t leave it that way. “I think privacy and security are of the utmost importance to everyone,” Vestager said in an interview with Reuters. “The important thing here is of course that it is not a shield against competition because I think customers will not give up security or privacy if they use another app store or if they sideload,” she said.

The Digital Markets Act

Vestager, who is also Vice President of the European Commission, proposed new rules as early as 2020, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which would force Apple to open the App Store. This should give users the opportunity to download apps onto their iPhones and iPads from the Internet or from third-party app stores. This practice is known as sideloading and requires Apple to be jailbroken – at least so far.

One can now think further: If the EU implements Vestager’s proposal, Apple would have to allow sideloads, and basically by default, without the user having to intervene in the form of a jailbreak.