Y’all know the thing: there is no browser choice on iOS, it’s all Safari all the way down.
The focal point for opposition against this is Open Web Advocacy.
This is news from back in April, but it seems pretty big to me. In Europe, there is the Digital Services Act (DSA) already that sets out a bunch of rules.
The rapid and widespread development of digital services has been at the heart of the digital changes that impact our lives. Many new ways to communicate, shop or access information online have appeared, and they are constantly evolving. We need to ensure that European legislation evolves with them.
There is a sister Act, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that goes into effect in 2024. Thomas Claburn at The Register says:
… when the DMA takes effect in 2024, it appears that Apple will be required to allow browser competition on iOS devices.
If that’s true — that’s pretty big, right? If Apple is strongarmed into allowing browser choice in Europe, maybe they’ll do it everywhere? Surely after some fiddle-faddle about what it all actually means. We’ll see.
It also assumes the other two browser makers (Chrome and Firefox), or someone who has a forked-and-iOS-ready version, is ready and willing to ship a real iOS version of their browsers. I would imagine this is a highly non-trivial job.
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