Apple Urges Senate to Reject a Bill That Allows Outside App Stores

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. urged top lawmakers to reject an antitrust bill set for consideration by a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday that would force the company to let consumers install apps from outside its App Store.

The company said the bill, S. 2710, would harm user security and privacy, create expansive liability exposure and legal uncertainty, and would deny consumer choice. The company made the statements in a letter, obtained by Bloomberg News, that was sent to Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin and ranking Republican Chuck Grassley ahead of their committee's discussion of the bill.

“We are deeply concerned that the legislation, unless amended, would make it easier for big social media platforms to avoid the pro-consumer practices of Apple's App Store, and allow them to continue business as usual,” Tim Powderly, the company's head of government affairs in the Americas, wrote in the letter.

The bill has bipartisan co-sponsors, giving it a good chance to be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. However, it could face a tougher fight to be considered by the full Senate.

The legislation would permit sideloading, the process of installing apps from the web or alternative app stores. Such a change would jeopardize Apple's 15%-to-30% commissions that it gets from developers. But it would also harm privacy, Powderly said in the letter.

“Sideloading would enable bad actors to evade Apple's privacy and security protections by distributing apps without critical privacy and security checks,” he said. “These provisions would allow malware, scams and data-exploitation to proliferate.”