Apple Could Be Forced to Open Up App Store in the UK

Apple has been designated with strategic market status (SMS) in the United Kingdom for iOS and iPadOS, a move that empowers regulators to impose binding requirements that could compel changes such as permitting rival app stores and direct software downloads.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the designation today in a press release, announcing that Apple and Google both met the legal tests for substantial and entrenched market power across operating systems, app distribution,…