The Federal Court in the Federal District has published a decision in favor of Apple, determining that it does not need to open iOS to competing app stores in Brazil, according to information from Estadão — as noted by MacMagazine.
With this, Apple can continue to force developers to distribute applications exclusively through the App Store. In other words, Apple won’t have to allow “sideloading.”
Sideloading is the process of installing apps or files onto a device from an unofficial source, rather than using the device’s official app store.
On March 6, a federal judge in Brazil ruled that Apple will have to open up the iOS ecosystem to third-party apps in Brazil just like the company did in the European Union. The judge said that the “limitations” imposed by the company on developers could jeopardize the entry of new competitors in the segment.
The Administrative Council of Economic Defense (Cade) said in February that this move was directly related to the action filed by Mercado Livre in 2022, in which the company was accused of promoting practices resulting in “serious anti-competitive effects” in the app market.
MercadoLibre’s complaint, filed in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico, accuses Apple of imposing a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases, including banning apps from distributing third-party digital goods and services such as movies, music, video games, books and written content.
Cade ruled that Apple must allow app developers to add tools so customers can buy their services or products outside the app, such as through the use of hyperlinks to external websites. Another preventive measure is that Apple must allow app developers to offer other in-app payment processing options apart from the one owned by Apple, according to Reuters.
In its legal challenge, Apple argued that the measure “drastically threatens” the security and privacy of iOS and said there is no “any legal justification” for the App Store business model to be changed. The company also called the fine a “completely unreasonable and disproportionate punishment”, and said that Cade used “unprecedented” arguments to open this investigation.
“[Cade’s decision] destabilizes a global business model that has been applied for at least 15 years without any competitive questioning in Brazil,” Apple said.
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