EU prepares to investigate Apple over problems with Progressive Web Apps
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Some European legislators claim Apple is shirking its responsibility for complying with the Digital Markets Act by removing Progressive Web Apps — and are preparing to begin an investigation.
In early February, users in the European Union began noticing that Progressive Web Apps were not working properly in iOS 17.4. At the time, the issue was not immediately clear.
It was later revealed that due to security and privacy concerns, Apple decided to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU. The company has expressed concern about the potential abuse of malicious web applications, given that third-party browsers will be available.
However, as the Financial Times notes, the European Commission believes Apple may be limiting the ways developers can avoid Apple's 30% App Store fee. The move again puts Apple in a difficult position as lawmakers issue information requests to both the company and app developers.
“We do check the compliance packages of all regulatory authorities, including Apple,” the European Commission said in a statement. “In this context, we are looking into the issue of progressive web apps in particular and can confirm that requests for information have been sent to Apple and app developers who may be able to provide useful information for our assessment.”
Apple did not provide a new comment to the Financial Times. Instead, he reiterated that the change would only affect a small number of users overall.
Progressive web app support has never been fantastic. However, their removal is puzzling given Apple's previous stance on the issue. Apple has used this feature as an antitrust defense globally.
