EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager mentioned in a brief speech that Apple may need to allow iPhone users to delete the Photos app.
Under Article 6 (3) of the DMA, gatekeepers are obliged to allow users to easily uninstall applications and easily change default settings. They must also provide options. Apple’s compliance model does not appear to meet the objectives of this obligation…
Apple has yet to make it possible for some apps to support uninstallation (one of which is Photos).
John Gruber of technology blog Daring Fireball pointed out that Apple would need to massively rewrite iOS code to support third-party default photo management apps.
Strictly speaking, “Photos” is not just a picture management application on iOS. It also controls the system-level interface of the camera album and is integrated into the entire iOS system. Each App can grant different levels of access permissions to photos. .
He believes that Apple will need to face a huge workload if it wants to meet this requirement. In serious cases, the EU’s requirements may cause the iPhone to withdraw from this market. He pointed out that EU fines can reach up to 10% of global revenue, and EU sales account for about 7% of global revenue, so it is more cost-effective to stop selling iPhones.
However, it is noted that EU Market Commissioner Thierry Breton refuted this possibility:
With a market of 450 million users, it’s impossible for any company to stay out. Some big tech companies can pay billions of dollars in fines without hesitation, but the situation is far from systematic and far from that. Now, it can be said that no company can afford to withdraw from the European market.
