Apple: The App Sideload Act will flood malware, scams, and data exploitation

IT House February 3 news, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the Open Market Act on Thursday, an antitrust bill that will allow app sideloading and mobile phone installation of alternative app stores.

Ahead of the meeting, Tim Powderly, Apple's head of government affairs for the Americas, sent a letter to committee members urging them to reject the bill, Bloomberg reported. Powderly repeats an argument for privacy and security, and Apple executives have repeatedly raised the dangers of sideloading apps many times before.

App sideloading will enable the bad guys to evade Apple's privacy and security by distributing apps that don't have critical privacy and security checks. These regulations will flood malware, scams, and data exploitation.

He also said Apple was "deeply concerned" that legislation in its current form would also "make it easier for large social media platforms to circumvent the pro-consumer practices of Apple's App Store."

IT House understands that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has discussed the U.S. Innovation and Online Choice Act, another antitrust bill introduced in June 2021, against which Apple has also objected. Despite Apple's protests, the bill was approved and will go to the Senate voting stage. The Open Markets Act is likely to join in.

Application sideloading can be understood as sideloading, which refers to the mode of operation of third-party applications that are installed and tested without any restrictions through the official app store.