As the language is finalized behind closed doors, most tech companies and their lobbyists are resigned to passage of the so-called Digital Markets Act. Other provisions in the DMA are aimed at the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc.
The DMA’s most existential threat to Apple comes with a provision that would allow software makers access to the iPhone—through so-called sideloading—outside of the rules and payment scheme of Apple’s App Store. One recent draft of the DMA, overwhelmingly approved in December by a 642-8 European Parliament vote, included sideloading.
The first thing to come to mind is Apple’s Dutch dating solution. To require app makers open their books and pay Apple 27% tribute. They feel, down to their very bone, that they deserve a portion of every transaction that passes through an iPhone.