On Thursday, the Senate will hold a hearing marking up the Open Apps Market Act (S. 2710), legislation that would mandate that Apple allow the installation of unvetted “sideloaded” apps on iPhones. 

“By mandating sideloading, this bill would guarantee iPhone access to the worst apps out there – both security threats and hate speech services,”  said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “It poses a serious threat to content moderation – eliminating Apple’s abilityto stop the spread of apps that promote misinformation and hate speech.”

Following last year’s insurrection, both Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores, helping to put a stop to the app’s explosive growth as a misinformation platform for the far right. Apple also banned  alt-right apps Gab and Infowars for similar content moderation reasons. 

This week, bill sponsors announced a manager’s amendment that will be considered at tomorrow’s bill markup. While the amendment recognizes the security concerns posed by sideloading, the amended bill would still require phone and tablet makers to open devices up to unvetted, unsecure apps.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.