European Union laws
European Union may ban pre-installed apps. (Photo: Charles Deluvio on Unsplash)

The European Union may soon come out with a new law that prohibits Google and Apple from offering products with preinstalled apps.

A new storm is brewing on the horizon and it comes in the form of a new European Union legislation that could stop Google and Apple from offering products with preinstalled apps. The law could also force the tech companies to share customer data with their competitors in the name of fair competition.

Called the Digital Services Act, the new set of legislation will compel tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook to share customer data with other technology companies, as long as they will use it for their own business requirements. For instance, an advertising platform is not allowed to use customer data other than for its own advertising services. The new set of laws could also prevent tech companies to offer products with preinstalled apps.

The biggest adjustment that tech companies like Apple and Google may have to contend with, in case the new legislation passes, is the prohibition as regards preinstalled apps on their products like phones and computers. In such a situation, tech platforms like Google and Apple, which offer smartphones and other devices, would have to sell such products without the preinstalled apps.

The law is still in the draft stage and at this early phase, it could still change, with the final form coming out differently from what was originally proposed. Then again, it could also come out the way European Union legislators want it to be. If such is the case, tech companies and manufacturers like Google and Apple will no longer be allowed to offer computers, smartphones, or any digital consoles with preinstalled apps or software.

The rationale of European Union legislators is that big tech companies like Apple and Google which offer products with preinstalled apps or software have an unfair advantage over their competitors. Legislators believe that consumers should be allowed to choose what apps or software to install on a particular smartphone, laptop, or computer. The new law may also compel tech companies to uninstall any preinstalled apps or let users do the task of preinstalling apps or software, on any electronic and digital gadgets like mobile phones and computers.

According to the European Union, the proposed law seeks to limit the dominance of big tech companies like Google and Apple over their platforms. Legislators believe that one way of curbing this dominance is to have them offer products without preinstalled apps or to uninstall preinstalled apps or software, on the products they offer. Most devices, like Google Pixel and iPhone, enjoy brisk sales because of preinstalled apps.