I think six months is a pretty unreasonable time frame for Apple. While the security concerns around this sort of thing are often overblown, Apple will need to rework their security model for the iPhone. If there is an API surface between the OS and the App Store, they may need to rework it since it's not been designed with third party stores in mind.
The funny thing is, Apple originally had plans for sideloading all the way back in 2008. An email that came out from the Apple vs. Epic trial last year had none other than Steve Jobs signing off on UI copy for installing apps from outside the App Store! [1]
Obviously, those plans were shelved when they changed strategy for iOS to walled-garden, but it's surprising how in the course of fourteen years the issue went from product roadmap to cultural anathema at Apple.
I think they assumed, like the rest of us to a degree, that "it will never happen". If this kind of "ffs, just effing solve it with a law already" kind of law comes through, I'm seriously considering moving to an EU country.
There is no "if this comes through". The law was adopted, all that's left is a formal step (getting the law signed) and then a standard waiting period (six months to allow companies to adapt).
That's just not true, it's a going concern for anyone working on online projects in Europe. It's come up for me personally in discussions with every client on every project for the last 4 years now. We're even at the point where major companies are being fined for misteps:
not the commenter, but I would imagine they're referring to the stipulation in GDPR that it must be as easy to decline marketing cookies as it is to accept them, which the overwhelming majority of websites don't abide by
We take GDPR very seriously in the EU. Fines are steep. There are difficulties getting foreign companies to comply, and there isn't a one-size-fits-all compliance toolbox for those breaches.
The noises out of government have been that this will happen for a few years now, at least from the perspective of an EU citizen. They should have been preparing.
> Make core messaging functionality interoperable. They lay out concrete examples like file transfer
Google, Apple, and Amazon are supposed to design, ratify, implement and ship a universal messaging standard in 6 months? This won't happen even if they skip the first two steps and use an existing standard.
Apple ships a new iOS version in September, when this timer is supposed to start. Are they supposed to upend their entire release cycle and ship these major changes to their OS by March?
I've used iPhones for years, and I'm totally down with these bullet points. But I think we can all chuckle at the timeline, given the scope of this.
They will negotiate a proper time frame. It will take years till we see the benefits. The EU will charge them a smaller fine and give them some time with that. Not their first rodeo on both sides.
'Negotiate'? No no my good man. That kind of thing gets easily abused by US corporations and they don't work elsewhere:
When Eu put out the 'browser ballot box' requirement for OSes, Microsoft said that it was technically very complicated, near impossible to implement it.
Then the Eu started fining Microsoft ~700,000 Euros a week or something.
Microsoft magically made the ballot box happen within a week.
What timeline do you think the Gatekeepeers would prefer? Is it a reasonable goal to let BigTech drag it's feet making these changes they didn't want to do on their own accord in the first place?
Amazing things are possible when the incentive is right. Given their VAST resources, it's only a matter of focus.
Mandating things that are impossible and then fining companies for failing to achieve them is just a silly and roundabout way to impose a tax, and if the EU just wants to tax a bunch of tech companies they should do so directly instead of this absurd charade.
clearly that's not what they want. they want less anti-competitive practices and they want them quickly. a massive fine that brings in some public money and punishes them for past actions is a nice upside
