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Porn app available on iPhone under EU's alternative app

store

rule

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Apple ( AAPL ) cleared Hot Tub for cybersecurity threats, but says

does

not approve of app

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AltStore backed by 'Fortnite' creator Epic Games

By Stephen Nellis

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) on Monday criticized a

pornography app newly available on iPhones in the European

Union, saying the bloc's digital policy was undermining consumer

confidence in Apple ( AAPL ).

Since it first opened the App Store on iPhones in 2008,

Apple ( AAPL ) has controlled what apps could be downloaded to the

devices, with then-CEO Steve Jobs saying in 2010 that keeping

porn off the iPhone was Apple's ( AAPL ) "moral responsibility" and one

of the company's major motivations for acting as a gatekeeper.

In the EU, Apple's ( AAPL ) gatekeeper status changed with the 2022

adoption of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which required Apple ( AAPL )

to allow alternative app stores. One of those stores, called

AltStore, has begun distributing an app called Hot Tub, which

describes itself as "a private, secure, and elegant way to

browse adult content."

In a statement, Apple ( AAPL ) said it is "deeply concerned about the

safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU

users, especially kids. This app and others like it will

undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem."

AltStore said it had received backing from Epic Games, the

creator of the "Fortnite" video game that pursued an antitrust

complaint against Apple ( AAPL ). AltStore said it used that funding to

pay fees that Apple ( AAPL ) charges to alternative app stores that are

under investigation by the EU, according to media reports.

As part of its alternative app store process, Apple ( AAPL ) still

requires apps to undergo a baseline review called "notarization"

that checks for cybersecurity threats such as known malware but

does not involve approving the app's content.

AltStore said Hot Tub was notarized by Apple ( AAPL ) and described

that move as making the app "the world's 1st Apple ( AAPL )-approved porn

app," raising Apple's ( AAPL ) ire.

"Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace

developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would

never offer it in our App Store," Apple ( AAPL ) said in a statement.

"The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to

allow it to be distributed."

AltStore and Hot Tub did not immediately return requests for

comment sent after normal European business hours.

In a post on X, Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said

his firm has supported laws such as the DMA because "when Apple ( AAPL )

are allowed to be the gatekeeper of competing apps and stores,

they grossly misuse that power to disadvantage competition."

He added that Epic's own app store in the EU, which rolled

out last year, is not carrying the Hot Tub app and has never

hosted porn apps.