EU Questions Apple on Fraud Prevention After Forcing Support for Riskier App Distribution

The European Union is readying to query large tech companies similar Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Booking.com connected whether they are doing capable to forestall online fiscal fraud, reports Financial Times.


European Commission tech person Henna Virkkunen told Financial Times that the EC volition inquire the 3 tech companies for accusation connected their efforts to artifact online scams that purpose to bargain wealth from Europeans. She said that fiscal scams are a caller precedence for the EC, with the committee looking to corroborate that tech companies "take each their efforts to observe and prevent" fraudulent activity.

Virkkunen plans to look astatine however Apple and Google grip fake apps successful their App Stores, similar fake slope apps. Google and Microsoft volition beryllium asked astir fake hunt results successful Google Search and Bing, portion Booking.com volition beryllium queried astir fake listings.

The EC is conscionable asking for accusation astatine this point, but determination could beryllium an probe that leads to fines. The Digital Services Act allows for penalties up to six percent of a company's yearly planetary turnover.

In a connection to MacRumors, Apple said that it has continually improved its antifraud measures to support consumers harmless from ever-evolving fraud tactics. Apple besides pointed retired the hypocrisy of the EU's fraud probe erstwhile EU instrumentality mandates enactment for alternate app marketplaces that tin skirt Apple's antifraud protections.
As integer threats person evolved successful scope and complexity implicit the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to code these challenges and support users. Every day, teams crossed Apple show and analyse fraudulent enactment and utilize blase tools to halt atrocious actors. Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to let alternate app organisation and payments, contempt warnings that this puts users astatine greater hazard of fraud and scams. While the regulator focuses connected issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of probe and fines, we volition proceed to advocator for the information and information of our users.
Apple shares yearly reports connected however its App Store reappraisal process prevents fraud and keeps consumers safe. In 2024, Apple said that the ‌App Store‌ prevented implicit $2 cardinal successful fraudulent transactions. Over 146,000 developer accounts were terminated implicit fraud concerns, and 1.9 cardinal ‌App Store‌ submissions were rejected owed to security, reliability, and idiosyncratic acquisition concerns, including privateness violations and fraud concerns.

In the European Union, Apple is required to enactment third-party app marketplaces that let consumers to instal apps extracurricular of the ‌App Store‌. Apple has a Notarization process that checks apps for "egregious fraud," but determination are acold less rules that non-App Store apps person to follow. Apple has continuously argued that the Digital Markets Act and alternate app marketplaces successful the EU exposure users to fraud and weaken Apple's information standards.
This article, "EU Questions Apple connected Fraud Prevention After Forcing Support for Riskier App Distribution" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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