Apple Faces Court Orders To Allow Third-Party Apps On iPhone

Apple gets a setback from the court, now apps can be installed on iPhone even without App Store

A federal court in Brazil has ordered Apple to allow third-party app stores and sideloading on iOS devices. The court has given the company 90 days to do so, otherwise it will have to pay a daily fine of more than $40,000. The court also believes that the company maintains strict control on the iOS platform to limit competition, which harms other app developers. For this reason, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) had ordered the company to remove restrictions related to in-app purchases and allow alternative payment systems.

The decision was delivered by Federal Regional Court Judge Pablo Zuniga, who reimposed restrictions imposed by Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE. CADE, which operates under Brazil’s Ministry of Justice, had accused Apple of stifling competition in the iOS app market.

According to a report by Brazilian publication Valor International, Apple has already complied with such rules in other countries and this has not caused any major damage to the company’s business model. The case against Apple in Brazil began with a complaint filed in 2022 by an e-commerce company called Mercado Livre. The company alleged that Apple was forcing developers to use its own payment system, giving its market position an unfair advantage.

According to reports, Apple will now have to allow third-party app stores to operate on iOS, so that users will not be limited to the App Store and will be able to download apps from other stores as well. Apart from this, the company will also have to provide sideloading facility, which will allow users to download and install apps directly from the website or other sources, as is possible in Android devices. Also, Apple will have to allow alternative payment options instead of its in-app payment system, which will allow developers to use other payment gateways and avoid Apple’s commission.

Apple has objected to this decision and said that the changes proposed by CADE could put users’ privacy and security at risk. The company plans to appeal against this order.

Apple has already made changes in the iOS 17.4 update under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union (EU), allowing European users to use third-party app stores. Now Brazil can become the second major market after the EU, where Apple will have to open its closed ecosystem. This may increase the possibility of similar changes in other countries as well.