Europe’s DMA gives another big boost to iOS platform decay

One of a handful of “independent” iOS app stores in Europe has begun the distribution of a porn app, advertising it as “Apple Approved.” The app isn’t approved by Apple, and the biggest app available on the AltStore is Epic’s child-focused Fortnite game. Fortnite publisher Epic Games also invested in the AltStore, which now seems on track to become Europe’s place for iOS porn. 

What an achievement.

It’s all thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

Tempers boil in Europe’s Hot Tub

The app (Hot Tub) is now available on the AltStore in Europe. The AltStore is one of the handful of independent stores to have appeared in the EU since implementation of the DMA. 

Originally a subscription-based service, the store became freely available once it received major funding from Epic Games, which has been a noisy critic of Apple’s App Store model. One thing the company hasn’t done with that funding is build an age-verification process, which means the porn app it provides is now easily available to young people in the region. 

Apple has no way to prevent this because the DMA both forces Apple to open up its app store ecosystem to third-party developers and removed its power to curate apps sold outside its store. And while the porn app is the first manifestation of the kind of content you’ll have to avoid when using third-party stores, or the kind of content you’ll want your kids to avoid, it won’t be the last such threat. 

Apple has warned for years that enabling app side-loading on iOS will open the gates to dangerous, deceptive, and dubious apps. Despite these warnings, the European Commission made this threat a reality. You should see this as a sign of what’s to come, thanks to the actions of former European competition chief Margrethe Vestager, who seems pleased to have forced Apple to open up. 

Features of the app include a “teen” channel and content from PornHub, which recently admitted to unlawful monetary transactions involving sex trafficking proceeds. Shortly after the app appeared, Alt Store also said it would donate its February Patreon earnings to organizations supporting sex workers and the LGBTQ community, which seems incongruous, given PornHub’s recent admission

A regulation for decay

Europe seems to think that forcing Apple’s platforms to become worse will in some way promote competition and enable innovative European businesses to thrive. But it seems to do so at the cost of platform security and the acceleration of what author Cory Doctorow describes as “enshittification.” In other words, it’s regulation-forced platform decay. 

In a statement provided to Computerworld, Apple said: “We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids. This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem that we have worked for more than a decade to make the best in the world.”

Apple has always argued that the DMA damages the company in preventing such content being published on its platforms. While there’s an app notarization process, that’s about tech verification and security rather than content. An app being notarized does not mean Apple has approved it, as is explicitly stated in the App Store guidelines. 

Silence is complicity

What makes matters worse is that the AltStore claims the app has been approved by Apple.

“Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it in our App Store,” Apple said. “The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety.”

Apple was concerned about the app before it hit the store and approached the European Commission in December to express its concerns. The Commission expressed no opposition to the app, I’m told. In other words, the people behind the app would be more truthful if they said their app was approved by Vestager, rather than Apple. I’m not convinced that would be how she sees it, but actions speak louder than words, and by not taking any action the Commission she leads gives tacit approval.

While perhaps some European millionaires will make a couple of bucks off this platform decay, it is doubtful the participants in the adult videos now easily available to European schoolchildren will see much of that largesse.

How to protect you and your kids

Despite the EU’s efforts, parents do have some choice. Apple has built Parental Controls to forbid access to third-party stores.  First you must set up Parental Controls on your child’s device, after which you should follow these steps:

Open Settings>Screen Time>Content & Privacy Restrictions.

Tap App Installations & Purchases.

Tap App Marketplaces to change this to Don’t Allow.

You can also tap Web to change this to Don’t Allow.

While this is likely to lead to your children protesting that they can no longer access Fortnite in order to spend your money on digital game items (for the benefit of Epic Games), this does at least mean you can restrict your children to a curated and trusted marketplace. While the DMA’s goal is to foster competition, its impact on platform security remains contentious, and incidents like this one absolutely illustrate the risks.

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