European Commission grills Apple and Google on app store risks and ad practices
The European Commission has sent a formal request to Apple and Google asking the tech giants how they identify "systemic risks" to consumers in their respective app stores.
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Both the App Store and Google Play have been designated as "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOPs), which requires them to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA.) VLOPs are platforms or search engines with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU.
The EC states that it's looking specifically for information regarding how Google Play and the App Store mitigate "systemic risks relevant to their services, in particular those related to the dissemination of illegal and harmful content, any negative effects on the exercise of fundamental rights, as well as any negative effect on public security, public health, and minors."
The EC is also asking for more information regarding transparency related to "recommender systems and online advertisements."
It's not entirely clear what the European Commission is looking for specifically, as it simply defines it as "illegal and harmful content." This could be asking Google and Apple about how they assess the safety of an app before it goes live on the app store.
It's also possible that regulators are assessing how each company determines an appropriate advertisement based on the audience it thinks it will reach.
According to the European Commission's statement, Google and Apple have until January 15 to comply with the request for information. Once the information is obtained, the EC will determine whether or not it needs to formally proceedings under Article 66 of the DSA.
In October 2022, Apple came under fire for heavily promoting gambling apps in its App Store. Many users were concerned, especially when such ads were showing up next to content geared toward children and gambling addiction recovery apps.
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Comments
This is about other problems that have been very clearly identified.
App Stores have obligations.
Users would be able to freely choose where they want to get their apps and developers can freely choose where they want to provide them.
If you want to use the App Store exclusively, do it.
If you don't, then you can pick and choose.
If developers choose to shun the App Store then we can ask ourselves why. Depending on the answer to that question, Apple might be able to do something about it.
That's choice and competition.
If Apple doesn't like it, it has options too (supposing the regulators rule against Apple's case).
I'm simplyfying things a lot here but 'risks' aren't where the root problem is.
Would be nice if they allowed users one option (Apple) instead of forcing them to be more like the competition and removing that one option..
So much for end user choice, or protecting of the end user's personal and financial details, better to protect the profits of big behemoths than the consumer, right?!
If you disagree, that's fine, but then Apple isn't the company for you and good news for you, there's another option in Android and its many manufacturers and many storefronts on offer. There isn't another option if you value your privacy and want your personal and financial details protected (as Apple has done successfully).
Fuck this effort.
Every little app these days is trying to become a "subscription" app... I do not want to pay a subscription for a simple 3d scanning app... This is ridiculous and please regulate this. The value added for a sub service should be substantial before it is allowed.
These are things that consumer protection legislation needs to address.
Bigger things... How about stop allowing huge multinational tech companies and startups wreck and grab entire industries worldwide??? Google took over advertisement ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE! Fuck that...
Now openAi/google/adobe want to take over industrial art/creative writing etc... F*^@ that!
Airbnb is messing up the global housing market with short term rentals.. Uber is fucking over taxi companies wherever they are available, and the fare is WORSE than before with taxies.
See the trend here? Disrupt an existing market with superior tech and ease of use... Throw tons and tons of "free" money to lure in people thinking it is cheaper and better, after market is saturated and the "old world industry" out competed, raise prices and gouge consumers. THIS is what EU and every sensible country should be regulating... And yes, that does include Apple.
IF regulation is non existent, do you really think there is a limit to how much companies are willing to unfairly gouge customers? I highly doubt it. If history or current reality around the globe is any judge, companies (..and certain countries) do not care if people are starving or houseless due to excessive cost of living...
This is the reason why some companies have bigger coffers than most countries. They are taking over entire industries/sectors of business across the globe...
There is absolutely a limit. It’s called the free market. The government does nothing to help. Every industry in which they get involved ends up being worse.
If you woke up today to no governments at all, every person free to do as they deem best, no rules and no police and no borders, it would last for a day at best.
Someone in your neighborhood would take charge of organizing, you know, for the safety and benefit of all of you. Protect the neighborhood's assets (as they see it), because people are going to want to take your stuff with no rules to stop them. Western water wars, here we come. I'll take an ounce of gold for that gallon, thank you very much, or we can just shoot it out. Your choice. Yay, free market.
From there it's a short trot to "government". It's fool's thinking to believe anything different. A free market cannot exist. Find me one anywhere on the planet now, or one that's existed in the last million years. If it's valuable someone will fight to control it, and then use it to control others. Nothing free about that.
You would truly accept an economy where Microgoople Corp has the money and power to own it all, extract any and all value for themselves, and create its own rules to live by to make it so? Oh, sounds fun and exciting. The Robber Barons ride again.