That's not an example of what
@Macative is suggesting at all. That's an example of the opposite where Apple waits until it's too late, with regulators intervening and putting together a list of specific items they expect Apple to fix in a specific way.
@Macative was suggesting Apple implement changes
before regulators get involved. Unfortunately for Apple, that ship has probably already sailed.
And if they had originally obliged prior to a regulation, what would have happened? Yes. The same thing.
Standing by one’s morals and what one believes in or what one thinks is better for their business or for their customers is absolutely the way forwards. People may not agree with what the company believes in, but that doesn’t matter.
Appeasing prior to being regulated or waiting to be regulated amounts to the same thing. Being forced into changing for (in this case) dubious reasons.
I can’t help it if you are on the other side of thinking to me, but it’s a moot point really. Any government forcing this type of thing on any company is dubious at best. It’s not cut and dried enough to be. Why aren’t they looking in to real issues? There are plenty of dubious practices made by Apple and many other companies regarding workers rights etc, in various countries. Or tax evasions. Or a whole host of stuff. Forcing the opening up of an eco system that is beneficial to the great majority of the customers that pay in to it, isn’t something that needs regulated. It’s being regulated in order for governments to control what they previously couldn’t control. I’m happy for you that you what to give this sort of control to your gov, but I do not.
Example. If there is a way for Apple to be forced to open an App Store that they cannot regulate themselves, then Any bad actor (or government, or Facebook, for example) can release ‘necessary’ apps, which bypass the strict data collection and/or backdoor proof Apple policies in order to track you for whatever purposes they desire. Most western govs want a way to bypass encryptions, for example. This is a road to that.
Turkeys voting for Christmas. Again! This stuff can’t be made up.