Since it first opened the App Store on iPhones in 2008, Apple has managed what apps may very well be downloaded to the units, with then-CEO Steve Jobs saying in 2010 that retaining porn off the iPhone was Apple’s “ethical accountability” and one of many firm’s main motivations for performing as a gatekeeper.
In the EU, Apple’s gatekeeper standing modified with the 2022 adoption of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which required Apple to permit different app shops. One of these shops, known as AltStore, has begun distributing an app known as Hot Tub, which describes itself as “a non-public, safe, and chic strategy to browse grownup content material.”
In an announcement, Apple mentioned it’s “deeply involved in regards to the security dangers that hardcore porn apps of this sort create for EU customers, particularly youngsters. This app and others like it should undermine shopper belief and confidence in our ecosystem.”
AltStore mentioned it had obtained backing from Epic Games, the creator of the “Fortnite” online game that pursued an antitrust criticism in opposition to Apple. AltStore mentioned it used that funding to pay charges that Apple prices to different app shops which are underneath investigation by the EU, based on media reviews.
As a part of its different app retailer course of, Apple nonetheless requires apps to bear a baseline evaluate known as “notarisation” that checks for cybersecurity threats resembling identified malware however doesn’t contain approving the app’s content material.
AltStore mentioned Hot Tub was notarised by Apple and in a submit on X described that transfer as making the app “the world’s 1st Apple-approved porn app,” elevating Apple’s ire.
“Contrary to the false statements made by {the marketplace} developer, we definitely don’t approve of this app and would by no means provide it in our App Store,” Apple mentioned in an announcement. “The reality is that we’re required by the European Commission to permit it to be distributed.”
AltStore mentioned feedback on X have been in reference to Apple’s notarisation choice, and Hot Tub steered press inquiries to AltStore.
In a submit on X, Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney mentioned his agency has supported legal guidelines such because the DMA as a result of “when Apple are allowed to be the gatekeeper of competing apps and shops, they grossly misuse that energy to drawback competitors.”
He added that Epic’s personal app retailer within the EU, which rolled out final yr, shouldn’t be carrying the Hot Tub app and has by no means hosted porn apps.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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