Apple Urges Senators to Reject Antitrust Bill That Would Allow Sideloading [Report]

Apple has written a letter to top lawmakers urging them to reject an antitrust bill set for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow, reports Bloomberg. The bill, S.2710, is called the Open App Markets Act, and would force Apple to allow sideloading.

In the letter sent to Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin and ranking Republican Chuck Grassley, Apple claims that the bill would harm user security and privacy, create expansive liability exposure and legal uncertainty, and would deny consumer choice.

“We are deeply concerned that the legislation, unless amended, would make it easier for big social media platforms to avoid the pro-consumer practices of Apple’s App Store, and allow them to continue business as usual,” wrote Tim Powderly, Apple's head of government affairs.


Considering the bill has bipartisan co-sponsors, there's a good chance it will get approval from the committee but it will likely face a tougher fight in the Senate.

As usual, Apple asserts a proliferation of malware and scams if sideloading is allowed, despite that not being the case with macOS.

“Sideloading would enable bad actors to evade Apple’s privacy and security protections by distributing apps without critical privacy and security checks,” he said. “These provisions would allow malware, scams and data-exploitation to proliferate.”

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