A new chapter is being written in the controversy that sees Epic Games oppose Apple, both in and out of the American courts, for the “liberalization” of app purchases outside the iOS App Store. Today, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney made some worrying statements to the press about Cupertino’s political clout.
Sweeney, in particular, would say that “every politician should be afraid” by Apple due to its ability to accept or reject any software requesting release on the iPhone through the App Store. Sweeney’s statements, reported by The Vergeare linked to the recent “social war” which saw Elon Musk criticize Apple both for the high commissions that the latter requires on in-app purchases and because Cupertino would considered removing Twitter from the App Store after the arrival of the new CEO.
Sweeney added that “I think it is incredibly dangerous to allow the largest company in the world to decide who can do what and what cannot be done“. Sweeney’s positions are therefore almost identical to those of Elon Musk, and focus on the request for alternative systems for downloading and installing apps on iOS, macOS and iPadOS compared to the Cupertino virtual marketplace.
Actually, Epic Games has reported a pretty major success in recent months on that front, as it has obtained the approval of the Open App Markets Act by the Washington Senate: the latter, in fact, would require Google and Apple to “liberalise” their application marketplace, or at least to allow the coexistence, alongside the latter, of other third-party virtual shops, each with their own apps and policies.
At present, however, a undermine the entry into force of the Open App Markets Act is the imminent “change of tunic” of the House of Representatives in Washington, the lower house of the American Parliament: the majority of seats within it was in fact won by the Republican Party during the midterm elections last November, therefore it is possible that the legislative act (a proposal from the Democratic Party) end up stranded in the passage between the Senate and the House of Representatives.
