Apple v. Epic Games: Giving the Side Eye to Sideloading

Tim Apple wants to protect the walled garden (WSJ)

Think of all the words that are prefixed with "side"---sidewinder, sidesaddle, sideeye, sideswiped, sideways---many have a negative connotation. Added to the list is sideloading: [bold added]

Apple’s defense of its mobile operating system, or iOS, comes ahead of an expected debate Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee on a package of bills aimed at reining in the nation’s largest tech companies.

Provisions in one of the bills, known as the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, could effectively give Apple’s customers broader control over which apps to download on their devices. It could prohibit Apple from continuing to block a practice known as sideloading, in which users install apps directly onto their iPhones without having to go through the company’s App Store. In Europe, the Digital Markets Act was introduced in December and is making its way through the legislative process. It too includes provisions to open the door to sideloading.

One of the reasons we are loyal Apple subscribers is because of the company's privacy protections. As is happening increasingly, we are loading apps from health-care providers onto the phones (with COVID testing and vaccinations we are almost forced to use them for travel and work). These apps contain personal information that could very easily be used for identity theft.

Anything that erodes these protections is anathema, and for Congress to force Apple or any company to do so for the sake of a game company's profits is crazy, stupid, reprehensible, outrageous, and...not surprising.