Apple geofences third-party browser engine work for EU devices
- Reference: 1715948230
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/05/17/apple_browser_eu/
- Source link:
The Register has learned from those involved in the browser trade that Apple has limited the development and testing of third-party browser engines to devices physically located in the EU. That requirement adds an additional barrier to anyone planning to develop and support a browser with an alternative engine in the EU.
It effectively geofences the development team. Browser-makers whose dev teams are located in the US will only be able to work on simulators. While some testing can be done in a simulator, there's no substitute for testing on device – which means developers will have to work within Apple's prescribed geographical boundary.
[1]
Prior to iOS 17.4, Apple required all web browsers on iOS or iPadOS to use Apple's WebKit rendering engine. Alternatives like Gecko (used by Mozilla Firefox) or Blink (used by Google and other Chromium-based browsers) were not permitted. Whatever brand of browser you thought you were using on your iPhone, under the hood it was basically Safari.
[2]
[3]
Browser makers have objected to this for years, because it limits competitive differentiation and reduces the incentive for Apple owners to use non-Safari browsers.
Apple's designation under Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA) [4]as a gatekeeper for the App Store, iOS, Safari, and just recently iPadOS forced Cupertino to make concessions.
[5]
One such allowance – [6]realized in iOS 17.4 – was letting iOS (and [7]subsequently iPadOS ) apps in the EU use alternative browser engines.
But rivals have complained that Apple's concessions are designed – [8]as Mozilla put it – to make it "as painful as possible for others to provide competitive alternatives to Safari."
That can be seen in Apple's [9]extensive list of requirements to offer a third-party browser engine on iOS in the EU.
[10]
Parisa Tabriz, VP of engineering and general manager of Chrome at Google, dismissed Apple's rule changes earlier this year. "Apple isn't serious about supporting web browser or engine choice on iOS," Tabriz [11]wrote in February. "Their strategy is overly restrictive, and won't meaningfully lead to real choice for browser developers."
[12]Samsung takes bite out of Apple over its mega marketing misstep
[13]Aghast iOS users report long-deleted photos back from the dead after update
[14]Google, Apple gear to raise tracking tag stalker alarm
[15]As one Apple Store votes against forming union, another may go on strike
When Apple announced its plan to make changes in response to DMA in January, developers [16]expressed concern that supporting a separate EU browser might be a problem. And those concerns persist.
"The contract terms are bonkers and almost no vendor I'm aware of will agree to them," lamented one industry veteran familiar with the making of browsers in response to an inquiry from The Register .
"Even folks that may have signed something to be able to prototype can't ship under the constraints Apple's trying to impose. They're so broad and sweeping as to try to duck most of the DMA by contract … which is certainly bold."
In March, the European Commission [17]opened an investigation into Apple based on concerns that Cupertino's "steering" rules and browser choice screen fell short of DMA requirements.
"By blocking browser engineers across the globe from working on their real browsers unless they are physically located in the EU, Apple is preventing them from being able to compete or perhaps even ship on iOS," declared Alex Moore, executive director of Open Web Advocacy, in a note to The Register .
"This is clearly absurd, has no reasonable justification and can only be described as malicious compliance. As a plausible scenario, imagine as a browser vendor you have a security issue but your top expert on that type of vulnerability is in the US. They have to fly to the EU so they can test and fix on a real device?
"At a minimum, Apple should issue guidance that this is a misunderstanding and that browser vendor test devices are exempt."
Asked about Apple's geofencing of devices for development, an Opera spokesperson replied that it hadn't heard about the issue – but that's not surprising given that the organization is headquartered in the EU.
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Vivaldi, also admitted he hadn't heard about the requirement. "Our dev team is all based in the EEA – mostly Norway and Iceland – so I presume this would not have applied to us," he explained. "But again, I cannot see how they could have a rule like that.
"I would think that would be seen as another anti-competitive move," he added.
"[Apple's] team is in the US and so are the teams for Microsoft, Google, Mozilla and most of the other larger browser companies."
Google and Mozilla didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Apple – which seldom does.
Mozilla and Google have explored versions of [18]Firefox and [19]Chrome for iOS based on non-WebKit engines, but have yet to release anything. Firefox users have [20]requested a Gecko-based version of Firefox for iOS, but are yet to receive any release commitment. ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zkd-KPRDlZcGfHvZCotqDAAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zkd-KPRDlZcGfHvZCotqDAAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zkd-KPRDlZcGfHvZCotqDAAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/apple_eu_dma/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zkd-KPRDlZcGfHvZCotqDAAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/06/ios_17_4_eu_compliance/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/03/ipados_apple_abt_eu/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/14/brave_mozilla_europe_ios/
[9] https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engines/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zkd-KPRDlZcGfHvZCotqDAAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://x.com/laparisa/status/1753489369095442933
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/16/samsung_takes_a_bite_out/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/15/ios_deleted_photos/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/android_apple_devices_anti_stalking/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/13/apple_store_union/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/31/web_developers_worry_apple_ios/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/25/ec_antitrust_team_opens_dma/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/07/mozilla_google_apple_webkit/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/03/googles_chromium_ios/
[20] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/issues/19063
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Yep - this is just fuck-a-boutery
This will be followed by find-outery and howls from the shareholders at the penalty.
Malicious compliance at its twattiest best. Read the room, Apple!
How does Apple determine location ?
Two ways occur to me, both of which can be worked around:
• IP address. use of a VPN with a European exit point could be used
• GPS. At last a valid reason to use GPS spoofing! (Need to be within a large faraday cage)
The above, especially GPS, are are not easy so only really usable within a corporate environment.
Re: How does Apple determine location ?
Probably via the modem, the mobile networks will give away the devices location which is how devices detected when they are roaming.
Apple really, really, REALLY wants the EU to park a tank on their their lawn, do they?
This is going to end well...
Re: Apple really, really, REALLY wants the EU to park a tank on their their lawn, do they?
But the EU will like this as it means IT jobs moving to Europe.
Cunning move?
Are Apple trying to appease the EU by making more EU based jobs, and so hope Apple will then be allowed to get away with other shithouse moves?
Shame that Apple themselves won't be moving devs to the EU to implement this bit of fuckery.
I absolutely adored my Mac Classic.
But I gave up on Apple completely some years ago because of their arrogance, restrictions and absurd pricing. Apple are not essential to computing. You can walk away. The sky doesn't fall in. Microsoft are a pain in the arse, but not quite as irritating as Apple.
Much fun can be had playing with early Macs, but the days when I would consider using an Apple anything for daily computing are long gone.
Can the Pi folk please use their loot when they go public to start selling a works-out-of-the-box, cased, retail Pi PC for the mainstream user. Then we can start having some fun again, 80s style.
Inside the letter
Never the spirit may be
Really bad Apple
I offer my services
to any US devs who need to have a pile of iPhones believe they are in Europe.
Post them to me, with a set of tickets, and I'll take them to a lovely little French village for a week, to build up a GPS history.
Then I'll pop 'em into faraday cage bags and personally chaperone them back to your offices, whichever ones are the most picturesquely situated in the US. You give me the next batch, I'll take 'em around Eire for a month, on your behalf (and your credit card).
To use them, you just need a dev office that is itself a faraday cage, with a brand-new WiFI AP (I can pick you up a Eurotrash model in Le PC World) connected via a VPN back to
La Belle France.
You just have to be ABSOLUTELY sure that nobody takes into the dev area any other iDevice, Bluetooth tracker, laptop with an active AP or any other radio emitter that could be tagged to your real location in the US. If you do, I have special rates for a fast pickup run, but those 'phones may believe they ate in Margate - that should be close enough to the EU to fool Apple, right?
Simples.
Many people like Apple because of the restrictions and security, and we hate Android because it's too free, open and obviously is much more of a dangerous environment for data. Apple doesn't sell my data, Google do. Apple checks all apps on the App store and Google permits some very dodgy apps on theirs.
If the EU want Apple to be more open, then fine, but Apple are taking the right approach to be restrictive, it's one of the reasons why I buy Apple products.
As has been said about 40 billion times already, you aren't required to use any of this. If you don't want sideloading or non-Apple browsers, just don't enable/use them.
Does the UK count ?
Serious question.
Re: Does the UK count ?
According to this, no:
https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2023/04/new-uk-digital-markets-regime-key-differences-with-the-eu-digital-markets-act
My understanding is that the designation of gatekeepers (strategic market status in the UK's case) won't come into effect until the end of this year and then it'll be up to the government to figure out who it applies to.
Apple behaving like shitty sulky teens. Sigh.
-long-term, disappointed Apple user.