Washington, March 4 (BUS) – Smartphone maker Apple (AAPL.O) has written to lawmakers to oppose assertions that its concerns about the risks of sideloading apps in phones have been exaggerated.
Sideloading, the practice of downloading apps without using the App Store, is among the fixes that lawmakers hope will open up the market for apps.
Congress is currently considering a bill aimed at reining in app stores operated by Apple and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) Google, which would require companies to allow sideloading. Apple argued that such a practice would pose a security risk because it would keep users safe through strict control of apps in the Store.
In a letter dated Thursday and sent to key members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Apple said it was aware that a critic, computer security expert Bruce Schneier, called its sideloading concerns “unfounded.”
Apple went on to say that most malware does not rely on technical tricks to gain access to devices, but instead tricks a human user into downloading it. He argued that Apple’s review of apps placed in the App Store “creates a significant barrier against the most common scams used to distribute malware”.
Apple acknowledged that Schneier was correct that state-sponsored attackers can pass through smartphone security controls, but argued that these types of attacks represented a “rare threat.”
“There is ample evidence to suggest that third-party app stores are a major vector of malware on platforms that support such stores,” Apple said.
It was sent to Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, senior Republican Chuck Grassley, and Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee, along with Republican Mike Lee, Reuters reports.
The committee voted in early February to approve the bill. This action will also prevent companies from requiring app providers to use their payment system and will prevent them from penalizing apps that offer different rates or terms through an app store or other payment system.
Big tech companies, including Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook and Amazon.com, have come under pressure in Congress over allegations that they abused their huge market power. A long list of bills aims to rein them in, but none have become law yet.