A law could come into force as early as this year, allowing games banned from Apple’s App Store to be installed on the company’s devices…

The abbreviation to remember is DMA. We’re not referring to Rockstar North’s previous name, DMA Design, but the Digital Markets Act. The European Parliament and Council are still trying to agree on the law, theoretically allowing Epic Games’ Fortnite to return to iOS devices if everyone eventually votes for the bill.

The Verge has obtained a statement from Johannes Bahrke, a spokesperson for the European Commission, saying: “We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it. This freedom includes opting for alternative sources of apps on your smartphone. With the DMA, a smartphone owner would still be able to enjoy safe and secure services of the default app store on their smartphones. On top of that, if a user so chooses, the DMA would allow a smartphone owner to also opt for other safe app stores.”

It means that if there is an app that is not on the Apple App Store for one reason or another, we could (if we have the file to install the app) upload it to our iPhone without any modding or jailbreaking and would be allowed to install it under the law. It would also mean that Apple would not force developers to use Apple’s payment systems. The Google Play Store would also be available to iOS device owners.

We don’t know exactly when the law could come into force (it still has to be passed by parliament), but The Verge reports that it could kick in as early as October. Apple is expected to oppose it. The company says that sideloading the iPhone platform could seriously compromise security, even though it is common on other smartphone platforms, including Android.

It would not be surprising if Apple were to take the EU to court over the DMA…

Source: VGC