The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) which becomes law later this year (autumn) and is aimed at promoting fair competition, regulating digital markets, and protecting consumer rights in the UK, may mean that Apple will need to open up its business practices. 

Similar to being a ‘gatekeeper’, for example, if the CMA’s Digital Markets Unit (DMU) decides Apple has a ‘Strategic Market Status’ (SMS) and decides that Apple has “substantial and entrenched market power” and a “position of strategic significance”, Apple may be forced to change its business practices to enhance competition and consumer choice.  

This could involve measures like allowing third-party app stores, enabling app sideloading, unbundling WebKit from browsers, sharing data with competitors, and avoiding preferential treatment of its own services. However, some commentators have suggested that if strict regulations hurt Apple’s business, it could impact the 4.8 million jobs supported by the iOS app economy in the US and Europe.