This Antitrust Reform Bill Would Force Apple to Let Users Delete Its Apps

New antitrust reform legislation would force Apple to let users remove the company’s default apps across all Apple devices. This is one of five new bills that hope to restrict and control the way tech companies work.

This new bill comes as a way of preventing Apple and other tech companies from gaining an advantage by forcing users to stick with many of Apple’s first-party apps.

David Cicilline, a Democratic Representative, told reporters on Wednesday this new bill would prevent Apple from using its influence to make people use its own apps.

“It would be equally easy to download the other five apps as the Apple one so they’re not using their market dominance to favor their own products and services..”

This new bill would force Apple to let users uninstall default iPhone apps. However, the company would still be able to preinstall these apps.

Additionally, the bill will also force tech companies to let users change a device’s default settings so that they don’t direct users to products and services offered by the platform.

“You can’t make it impossible for people to use other services that are the same. You can’t exclude other people so you only are left that one.”

David Cicilline

The bill wouldn’t just affect Apple but other tech giants as well. Amazon would also be forced to follow this bill with their subscription service Amazon Prime since it offers an advantage over other sellers on the platform. On the other hand, it still remains to be seen if the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission determine that Microsoft will be subject to these measures as well.

This new bill, along with the other four bills from the antitrust reform legislation, will be marked up by The House Judiciary Committee in a hearing next week, according to Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, who is the chairman of the committee.