TL;DR: AI startup Perplexity has made a $34.5 billion bid to acquire Chrome, despite previously opposing its divestiture from Google and arguing no other company could run it effectively. We are concerned that this sale could lead to a 70% plunge in web platform investmentand that Perplexity has neither the means nor incentive to fund the web platform to the same level as Google. This outcome would further strengthen the anti-competitive grip of Apple and Google’s native platforms at the ex...| Open Web Advocacy posts
Readers may recall that Japan recently passed the Smartphone Act, officially the Bill on the Promotion of Competition for Specified Software Used in Smartphones. Among its most important reforms is a direct prohibition on Apple’s long-standing ban on third-party browser engines on iOS.| Open Web Advocacy
TL;DR: The UK regulator has provisionally found that Apple and Google meet the threshold for Strategic Market Status (SMS) under the DMCC. In Apple’s case, the decision highlights its ban on competing browser engines and its actions to suppress competition from web apps.| Open Web Advocacy
TL;DR: Apple’s rules and technical restrictions are blocking other browser vendors from successfully offering their own engines to users in the EU. At the recent Digital Markets Act (DMA) workshop, Apple claimed it didn’t know why no browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS over the past 15 months. But the reality is Apple knows exactly what the barriers are, and has chosen not to remove them.| Open Web Advocacy
TL;DR: On iOS in the EU, selecting a third-party browser from the choice screen replaces Safari in the hotseat (dock), ensuring the user’s choice is respected. This change has already led to meaningful gains in market share; Mozilla, for example, saw its daily active users double in France and Germany on iOS, where the hotseat change is implemented. DuckDuckGo’s findings suggest that replacing Safari in the hotseat boosted the iOS choice screen’s effectiveness by a factor of nine. Yet G...| Open Web Advocacy
Regulators around the world are working to address competition issues in digital markets, particularly on mobile devices. Several new laws have already been passed, including the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), Japan’s Smartphone Act, and the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Australia and the United States are also considering similar legislation with the U.S. Department of Justice pursuing an antitrust case against Apple. Across all of these efforts, common q...| Open Web Advocacy
Share and join the conversation: X/Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn and Bluesky.| Open Web Advocacy posts
Share and join the conversation: X/Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn and Bluesky.| Open Web Advocacy posts
Share and join the conversation: X/Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn and Bluesky.| Open Web Advocacy posts
TL:DR; Yet again Apple’s ban on third-party browser engines weakens security| Open Web Advocacy posts
Share and join the conversation: X/Twitter, Mastodon, LinkedIn and Bluesky.| Open Web Advocacy posts
TLDR: Apple has fixed 6 important issues with allowing browsers and Web Apps to compete on iOS (including allowing browser vendors to test their own browsers outside the EU) but a massive list of issues remain to be fixed in order to be in compliance with the DMA.| Open Web Advocacy posts
Today, together with many others, we have co-signed this important letter addressing the urgent need for DMA enforcement.| Open Web Advocacy posts
TLDR: Interop uses secret vetos, mobile NOT included in interop scores, Critical Safari scroll issues need fixing.| Open Web Advocacy posts
If you have a spare half hour, we highly recommend listening to Stuart Langridge's insightful and eloquent talk about why the open web is special. Stuart shares his passion for the internet and its incredible potential. In his talk, he delves into the unique qualities that make the web such a powerful tool and why it's crucial for us all to advocate for and explain its significance.| Open Web Advocacy posts
This week, Webventures published an article outlining various bugs and problems in iOS Safari over the last several years that were absolute showstoppers for the Web being a competitive constraint and substitute for mobile app stores.| Open Web Advocacy posts
TLDR: Apple seems to have tried to mislead the UK regulator that a deceptive pattern they had previously implemented for picking default browsers, in fact, never existed.| Open Web Advocacy posts
Today, in a step forward for user choice and browser competition, Apple has adopted 6 out of 11 of our recommendations to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act in relation to browser defaults and choice screens. In addition Apple has fixed two severe and deliberate deceptive patterns that we campaigned to fix including at the DMA's workshop.| Open Web Advocacy posts
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, Browser and Cloud Gaming Market Investigation has just released their progress report. Long time readers may remember that this investigation was restarted after a high court win against Apple.| Open Web Advocacy posts
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to restore contestability, interoperability,| Open Web Advocacy posts
Yesterday, Japan’s parliament passed into law a bill to promote fair competition on smartphone operating systems, similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act and the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.| Open Web Advocacy posts
# UK passes Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill| Open Web Advocacy posts
Long time readers will already know that Apple has effectively banned all browsers from iOS by preventing them from bringing or modifying their own engines. That makes all browsers on iOS essentially skins round Safari. We brought this up in one of our questions to Apple at their DMA workshop where we stated that "Apple’s 15 year ban of third-party browser engines has effectively removed browser competition from iOS.", surprisingly there was no rebuttal from Apple, even veiled, of our asser...| Open Web Advocacy posts
We’ve previously covered filings from Apple claiming Safari is actually 3 browsers and that iPadOS shouldn’t be regulated under the DMA at all, which are arguments that have not held much water in our minds. But on Monday the EU published Apple's November filing, so we’ve been able to see a bit more about what they’re requesting.| Open Web Advocacy posts
The Australian government has agreed to new competition laws for digital platforms!| Open Web Advocacy posts
Bruce published an article where he gives us a summary of the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) report on Mobile App Competition.| Open Web Advocacy posts
G'day, sport! Bruce here, with an update on progress we've made down under with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).| Open Web Advocacy posts
Howdy, Bruce here, with an update on progress we've made in both the EU and with the UK's competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).| Open Web Advocacy posts
Since Apple released their plans for compliance with the EU’s DMA regulations on 25th January, we’ve been asking web developers how these changes may affect how they work, their businesses and the web as a whole.| Open Web Advocacy
The UK's Mobile Browsers and Cloud Gaming Market Investigation Reference (MIR) has published its final report. The conclusion is clear: Apple’s “WebKit restriction”, which forces all browsers on iOS to use Apple’s engine, harms competition, stifles innovation and functionality, particularly for Web Apps.| Open Web Advocacy
Open Web Advocacy has joined forces with industry associations, civil society organizations, and businesses to call on the European Commission to take urgent and decisive action in enforcing the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This landmark regulation was designed to curb the power of dominant gatekeepers and foster a more open, competitive digital landscape. However, without proper enforcement, the DMA risks falling far short of its intended impact.| Open Web Advocacy
The UK's CMA has launched an investigation into whether Apple and Google hold strategic market status (SMS) in mobile ecosystems, including operating systems, app stores, and mobile browsers.| Open Web Advocacy
As 2025 begins, it's a perfect moment to reflect on 2024’s developments, achievements, and what lies ahead regarding regulators, browsers, and web applications.| Open Web Advocacy
TL;DR: We believe the UK Market Investigation Reference is missing critical remedies. Most importantly "Apple shall allow third-party browsers to install and manage Web Apps using their own browser engine.". We need YOU to write to the CMA (before August 29th) and provide feedback on why allowing browsers to compete in providing Web App functionality is important.| Open Web Advocacy
TLDR: For 7 years, Google has failed to keep its commitment to share the ability to install Web Apps with third-party browsers on Android, despite public requests from Samsung, Microsoft, Brave & Kiwi browser. With regulatory intervention from the EU, Japan and the UK that may be changing.| Open Web Advocacy
In-App Browsers subvert user choice, stifle innovation, trap users into apps, break websites and enable applications to severely undermine user privacy. In-App Browsers hurt consumers, developers and damage the entire web ecosystem.| Open Web Advocacy
This morning, the EU announced that| Open Web Advocacy
Today, the contents of the US Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Apple were revealed. The DOJ along with 16 State's Attorneys General are co-litigants against Apple, claiming a series of unlawful behaviours by the tech giant.| Open Web Advocacy
In a huge relief to developers and supporters of the open web, and under immense backlash, Apple has cancelled its plan to sabotage Web Apps!. This ends weeks of fear and uncertainty for developers and users.| Open Web Advocacy
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) grace period for gatekeepers to comply has now ended.| Open Web Advocacy
In 2011, Philip Schiller internally sent an email to Eddie Cue to discuss the threat of HTML5 to the Apple App Store titled “HTML5 poses a threat to both Flash and the App Store”.| Open Web Advocacy
If you ship a Web App in the EU and will be impacted by this, please sign our open letter to Tim Cook. It is critical that we gather as much evidence as possible to prevent Apple from breaking Web Apps in the EU.| Open Web Advocacy
# Will Apple ever let browsers and Web Apps compete fairly?| Open Web Advocacy
We have been alerted that Apple has broken Web App (PWA) support in the EU via iOS 17.4 Beta. Sites installed to the homescreen failed to launch in their own top-level activities, opening in Safari instead. This demotes Web Apps from first-class citizens in the OS to mere shortcuts. Developers confirmed the bug did not occur outside the EU.| Open Web Advocacy
The #AppleBrowserBan Ends in the EU!| Open Web Advocacy
We’re living through a moment of real potential for change. For over a decade the Web has been prevented from fairly competing. That’s changing, and we’re working without fear or favor to direct change toward a safe, open future for computing and a better Web for all.| Open Web Advocacy
Nearly three weeks ago, we reported that London's Court of Appeal had ruled against Apple and in favour of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), allowing the CMA to reopen their Browser and Cloud Gaming Market Investigation. There was a 21 day grace period before that investigation could restart to allow Apple to respond.| Open Web Advocacy
Check out the most recent blog posts from Open Web Advocacy.| Open Web Advocacy
In the last couple of weeks we've seen a few browser security bugs pop up, giving us the opportunity to talk about how a competitive landscape for web browsers is vital to protecting users online.| Open Web Advocacy
In a victory for consumers and developers, London's Court of Appeal has ruled against Apple and in favour of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), allowing the CMA to reopen their Browser and Cloud Gaming Market Investigation Reference.| Open Web Advocacy
As the EU further rolls out the Digital Marketing Act, they have designated a variety of companies and their platforms as “Gatekeepers”. You can see the complete list of Gatekeepers and some really useful explainers on what being a Gatekeeper means on the EU’s very informative website.| Open Web Advocacy
OWA’s key goal is to enable true competition and browser choice across all devices. But, why do we care so deeply about this, and what would success look like?| Open Web Advocacy
The CMA invited responses to its interim report.| Open Web Advocacy
The full Bringing Competition to Walled Gardens report, published by Open Web Advocacy.| Open Web Advocacy
