Apple Says Revised U.S. Sideloading Bill Would 'Undermine the Privacy and Security Protections' iPhone Users Rely On

A revised version of the American Choice and Innovation Act was introduced last night by Senator Amy Klobuchar.

There are few changes to the bill that would alleviate Apple's concerns, and the company provided a statement to MacRumors.

We created the iPhone and the App Store to be a safe and trusted place for users to download the apps they love and a great business opportunity for developers everywhere. The result has been an unprecedented engine for economic growth, which has enabled competition and innovation and made it possible for any developer with a great idea to reach Apple customers around the world.

We remain concerned that this legislation threatens to break this model and undermine the privacy and security protections our users depend on. Governments and international agencies worldwide have explicitly advised against sideloading requirements, which would empower bad actors who want to target users--including children--with malware and scams, and make it easier for data-hungry companies to track users without their consent. At the end of the day, the changes made to the bill are a recognition that the legislation, as originally drafted, created unintended privacy and security vulnerabilities for users. We believe the proposed remedies fall far short of the protections consumers need, and urge lawmakers to make further changes to avoid these unintended consequences.

According to POLITICO, some Senate Democrats are pushing back on the bill, but Democratic leaders are aiming for a vote by this summer. Democratic senators have expressed deep reservations about voting for the bill in its current form, as it could be too contentious for an election year, which has led to the introduction of a new version.

The revised bill is designed to address some of the concerns Senators have raised about the tech industry changes the legislation would introduce, but Apple maintains that the changes do not go far enough. The company says that the changes prove that the original legislation results in unintended privacy and security vulnerabilities for users.

The updates make it easier for Apple to defend privacy changes that it implements, but Apple would still have to demonstrate that each change is tailored to the individual and that it could not be achieved in another way. There is no change to the requirement for Apple.

The bill states that apps can be installed on iPhones outside of the App Store, making the platform much more similar to the Android platform. Facebook would be able to work around the privacy protections on the ios device through side loading, and would not be subject to Apple's rules against tracking. The bill does not place restrictions on non-U.S. companies that compete with Apple, which could be problematic in the future.

Apple has previously said that allowing side loading would result in a flood of new attacks from bad actors eager to access the sensitive data stored on consumer devices. The bill would allow criminals to side-step Apple's privacy and security protections completely.

In November, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that consumers who want to sideload apps should look to Android.

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