Reuters reported that Apple today launched a legal challenge to the European Union's Digital Markets Act, as the bill is about to require Apple to enable app sideloading on its devices. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) comes into effect on November 1, 2022, requiring "gatekeeper" companies to open their services and platforms to other companies and developers.
DMA will have a major impact on Apple's platform, possibly forcing the company to make major changes to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, Siri, and more. For example, Apple will have to allow users to "sideload" apps from outside the App Store. The company appears ready to acquiesce to this requirement in early 2024.
Apple's new legal case targets specific decisions made by the European Commission under the DMA, but the specific details of the challenge have not yet been released. The case is expected to include arguments against including the App Store on the EU's list of gated platforms, which requires app sideloading as an option, allowing users to avoid the App Store if they wish.
In a statement at the time, Apple told Bloomberg: "We remain very concerned about the privacy and data security risks DMA poses to our users."
Meta and TikTok have filed similar appeals challenging the European Commission's inclusion of their services.