According to a new report by Reuters, Apple has informed the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that the remedies proposed by the agency could potentially stifle innovation in the mobile browser market and might lead to a wastage of the company's resources.
The face-off between Apple and CMA was sparked in 2022 when the watchdog, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, launched a probe into the Apple and Google duopoly in the mobile browser market. The agency's allegations suggest that these tech giants are creating barriers for rival browsers to compete and innovate.
In Apple's case, the CMA alleged that the iPhone maker abuses control over the ecosystem by forcing other developers to use its browser engine, WebKit. The move potentially prevents third-party developers from offering new features or making their products more power efficient.
In response, Apple has taken steps to allow developers to build browser apps based on their own browser engines and has given users the freedom to choose their default web browser from a range of options. Meanwhile, the UK's CMA has proposed that any new feature Apple adds to its WebKit should be available to other developers for free.
Apple is now alleging that it would "not be appropriate" to let third-party developers access WebKit's new features for free as it takes a lot of resources and time to develop these features.
"Apple cannot recoup a reasonable amount of those expenses ... to do so would have a chilling impact on Apple's incentives to innovate and would lead to free-riding and underinvestment on the part of third parties."
Apple might have a valid point here. While third-party developers can now build apps based on their own web engines, expecting Apple to let them access WebKit for free is more like an extravagant wish. It remains to be seen how CMA will respond.
What do you think? Should Apple make new WebKit features available to others for free?
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