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Comment by kmlx | Hacker News Reader

> "We are still reviewing the technical details but are extremely disappointed with Apple's proposed plan to restrict the newly-announced BrowserEngineKit to EU-specific apps," Mozilla's spokesperson lamented. "The effect of this would be to force an independent browser like Firefox to build and maintain two separate browser implementations – a burden Apple itself will not have to bear.

isn't apple in the same position when it comes to the OS, being forced to have one version in the EU and one for the rest of the world? and isn't this problem more costly than keeping two separate browsers?

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Apple can use the EU version for the rest of the world.

and mozilla can use the same firefox version that they use in RoW in the EU.

A difference being whether Apple does or doesn't Apple still gets to maintain 1 version of their unrestricted browser either way whereas if Mozilla does or doesn't it either has to maintain 1 version of their unrestricted browser and 1 version of their restrictor browser or 1 version of their restricted browser.

I.e. your proposed situation is a bit of a "have your cake and eat it too" for Apple. A possibility sure, but not really an equivalent remark.

Why would they do that if they don't have to though? Safari will lose even market share.

Firefox doesn't make an OS anymore, let alone one for iPhones. They're strictly referring to safari, the browser (labelled gatekeeper) that they are competing with.

There's plenty of other stuff apple does that costs more money, but none of that is relevant to competition in the browser space.

why treat this small part (browsers) separate from the rest? are browsers not running inside an OS that runs on hardware?

> (labelled gatekeeper)

with just 20% of the market. pretty incredibile imo.

It's only incredible when you look at the percentage alone because it sounds like for every 1 unit of control they must have 4 units of wild west alternative. In reality it was for every 1 unit of control they have someone else has 4 units of control and together there was 100% gatekeeping.

Not really. Apple had to build out the system of entitlements and new APIs for the EU but the segregation goes through the App Store and Developer Program which run on policy, not code. It’s not that the EU version of Firefox wouldn’t work on my American iPhone with its American Apple ID, Apple just won’t let Mozilla distribute it to me.

There shouldn’t be a problem under the law though. EU laws apply to the EU’s jurisdiction, the EC would have no leg to stand on in telling Apple they have to make all the same changes worldwide just to make Mozilla’s life easier.

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