The Battle for App Ecosystem Freedom: Inside the EU's DMA Compliance Workshops

At the European Commission's recent Digital Markets Act (DMA) compliance workshops, a revealing theater unfolded. Tech giants designated as 'gatekeepers'—Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, Maps, and Android—faced public scrutiny over their monopolistic practices. Representing the F-Droid community at these sessions, I witnessed a masterclass in corporate evasion tactics disguised as cooperation.

Gatekeeper Gambits: Self-Preferencing and Hollow Compliance

Apple and Google deployed sharply contrasting strategies to defend their walled gardens. Apple leaned heavily on its app review process, which F-Droid exposed as fundamentally flawed:

"They never review source code, only the binaries. Ask any source code auditor and they'll tell you, you have to review the source code to get a full picture,"

Meanwhile, Google touted its allowance of third-party app stores as DMA compliance—while simultaneously deploying Play Protect 'scare screens' against F-Droid without responsible disclosure. This self-preferencing extends to Google's recent quiet restrictions:

• Halting open development of AOSP (Android Open Source Project)
• Withholding Pixel device tree source code, hampering alternative OS projects
• Launching 'Android Developer Verification' requiring ID submissions and fees to install non-Play Store apps

The Legal Siege Mentality

Both companies revealed a stark shift from innovation to litigation. Apple now champions its "$1 billion plus legal budget" and "high-risk legal strategies," with CEO Tim Cook urging lawyers to "push the envelope." Google initially engaged constructively—implementing early data portability tools—but has since adopted Apple's combative posture. During workshops, their competition lawyers:

• Dodged technical questions with "calculated ignorance"
• Ran overtime on marketing-heavy presentations
• Openly suggested they'd "drag this out in the courts as much as possible"

Astroturfing and the Art of Evasion

The workshops revealed sophisticated gaming of the process. Organizations funded by Apple and Google praised the gatekeepers, while genuine critics were sidelined. One particularly telling exchange involved an attendee claiming interest in DMA despite working in recycling:

"I kept asking friendly questions around how he financed his DMA work, and the dodges just kept getting funnier."

Google even staged a tech demo by a surveillance capitalism startup CTO—a transparent time-wasting tactic. Their lawyers ignored substantive technical queries, instead emphasizing how "hard it is to hire good developers" while alienating the open-source contributors who built mobile ecosystems.

DMA's Concrete Wins—and Why They're Under Threat

Despite obstruction, the DMA has forced tangible changes:

1. Improved Android APIs enabling background app store updates
2. Genuine data portability tools from Google (and belatedly Apple)
3. Return of Progressive Web Apps on iOS
4. Multiple non-Apple app stores now available on iOS

Yet these gains face erosion through 'malicious compliance.' Google's developer verification could cripple F-Droid, while Apple's legal budget dwarfs enforcement resources. The stakes extend beyond app stores:

"Any developer or organization that wants to publish a mobile app now has to comply with either Apple’s or Google’s Terms of Service. That means two US companies now have a say in the apps that our governments make for their citizens, worldwide."

The Path Forward: Developers as Digital Watchdogs

The DMA's survival hinges on technical counter-evidence from developers. When Apple falsely claimed app encryption (not signing) ensured integrity, FOSS experts corrected the record—forcing Apple to backtrack. With the EU consultation open until September 24th, detailed technical feedback remains critical. As hundreds of academics recently urged in an open letter, standing up to Big Tech requires dismantling their narratives line by line. For those who believe in open ecosystems, the workshop footage (Apple, Alphabet) offers fertile ground for analysis. The battle isn't just legal—it's a war of technical truth.

Source: F-Droid's account of the DMA 2025 compliance workshops