“We seriously believe we have a moral responsibility in keeping porn outside the iPhone. Those who want porn can buy themselves an Android smartphone “: Other times when there was Steve Jobsbut it’s not that Tim Cook thinks differently. Except that the rules of the game have changed, especially in Union of Europe, and here also for Apple comes a moment, so to speak, historian: the approval of the first pornographic application on the iPhone. Is called Hot tuband is now available through Altstore, one of the alternative marketplace to the official Apple App Store that Cupertino had to be able to accept after the EU requests following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act. or the legislation aimed at promoting competition in the technological sector.
The Digital Markets Act It was designed to combat the domain of the so -called “Big Tech: companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Bytedance, Microsoft and Amazon who manage digital platforms and act as intermediaries between users and services. The DMA has forced them to open their ecosystems, And Apple, historically known for its rigid control on the app store, had to adapt.
But what is it about? In practice, the scandal app (in many senses) is an aggregator of adult content that allows you to search and play videos from services such as Pornhub and Xvideos. All this, the developers say, with the utmost Defense of privacy and security of users, without invasive advertising or tracking systems. This obviously did not avoid the disappointment and manifest opposition of Apple, who in this regard issued a declaration: “We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that the hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, in particular Children. For now, a report sent to the European Commission has been useless, which has not received a response.
The arrival of Hot Tub was facilitated by Epic Gamesthat is, the company that created one of the most popular video game in the world, namely Fortnite, and which has long been accused Apple of carrying out restrictive policies of the App Store and excessive control over the developers. In short, it seems, a real slut horse sent by Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic, which financially supports Altstore through the payment of the tax that each alternative marketplace must pay to Apple for each installation of the app made through its own store. So much so that the initial subscription of one euro and 50 cents per hot tub has been canceled after its financial support. All this while Google has restricted the third -party store operating field by introducing the concept of “Strong Identity”, designed to ensure greater safety for users of banking and payment applications. It is not said, however, that the European Union does not express its opposition to this too.
Meanwhile, the Hot Tub case opens an important front for Apple, which has based on the services in recent years the main source of its monstrous revenues.
In short, the challenge to the power of Cupertino is only at the beginning, but the risk is that – if the number of apps that risk compromising security and decorum of the Phone were to widen – in the end the consumers will lose the game.