The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the bipartisan Open App Markets Act, an antitrust bill that would allow for alternative app stores and alternative in-app payment systems on the iPhone. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for a vote.
Apple had urged the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the bill, arguing that sideloading would pose privacy and security risks for customers.
"Sideloading would enable bad actors to evade Apple's privacy and security protections by distributing apps without critical privacy and security checks. These provisions would allow malware, scams and data-exploitation to proliferate," said Apple's government affairs head Tim Powderly in a letter sent to the Committee earlier this week.
Last month, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, another antitrust bill that would allow sideloading and which Apple spoke out against, citing the same privacy and security risks.
The passage of the Open App Markets Act out of the Senate Judiciary committee brings us one step closer to having this legislation signed into law. This bill will let people download apps directly from outside companies rather than being forced to go through official app stores. — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 3, 2022
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