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#Apple has announced new terms for alternative app distribution in the EU (18 August 2026). The reduction of fees is welcome, but the core problems for smaller developers and #FreeSoftware remain there. 🧵A thread on why we're still concerned about #DMA compliance.🧵

The biggest issue: #notarization. Every app must pass Apple's automatic and human review before it can run on iOS, even when distributed outside the App Store, via an alternative marketplace or a website. No channel escapes Apple's gatekeeping.

Once notarized, Apple encrypts the binary. Nobody can run, inspect, or share that software freely. This makes it impossible to distribute #FreeSoftware apps, as the freedoms cannot be guaranteed.

Entry barriers for developers stay high: despite a waiver for not for profit projects, to open an alternative marketplace you need financial guarantees worth up to €1 million, or must already reach 1 million first annual installs. Small projects rarely meet either bar.

On top of that, every developer still needs an Apple Developer Account just to distribute software at all, no matter the channel.

These concerns were already raised in a complaint to the European Commission filed by @freiheitsrechte.org and @article19.bsky.social, which the FSFE contributed to. www.article19.org/wp-content/u...