Bloomberg posted an updated article, which clarifies that
the antitrust legislation prohibits Apple from preventing users from removing
Apple-created apps on their Apple devices. While Apple does allow users to
delete many of its own apps, it doesn’t allow the deletion of core apps like
Messages, Photos, and Phone.
According to the proposed U.S. antitrust legislation
released last week, Apple would not be allowed to sell its iPhones with its own
apps installed. Instead, the company would offer other app options for users to
install. The free Apple-created apps on iPhones currently include Messages, FaceTime,
Calendar, Notes, and a few others.
Under the proposed antitrust legislation, this requirement would lead to a substantial change in Apple’s iPhone's setup process, which would become more complicated, less streamlined, and perhaps even more expensive if users were cued to purchase or subscribe to third-party apps and services to replicate Apple’s services at no cost.
The antitrust legislation was released by U.S. House
lawmakers last week, consisting of five different bills targeting big tech
companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. The bills would be
applicable to businesses that have a market capitalization of $600 billion and
at least 50 million monthly active users in the US.
If these bills pass, we would see a never-before drastic
change in the tech industry. The bills are expected to receive a hearing from the
House Judiciary Committee coming week.
