Open Web Advocacy
@open-web-advocacy.org
Developers fighting self-serving restrictions imposed on the web by tech giants.
Help us end #AppleBrowserBan & make web apps 1st-class. https://open-web-advocacy.org
Help us end #AppleBrowserBan & make web apps 1st-class. https://open-web-advocacy.org
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and HTML, has expressed support for compelling Apple to allow other browser engines on iOS. He also states that having a powerful browser on iOS would "change the dynamic" with respect to web app's viability on mobile.
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Tim Berners-Lee On Apple’s Browser Engine Ban and Web Apps - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and HTML, has expressed support for compelling Apple to allow other browser engines on iOS. He also states that having a powerful browser on iOS would "change the dynamic" with respect to web app's viability on mobile.
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The 🇬🇧UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially designated Apple as having Strategic Market Status (SMS). After four years investigating Apple’s restrictions on browser engines and web apps, the CMA now has statutory authority to enforce a code of conduct.
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November 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
The 🇬🇧UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially designated Apple as having Strategic Market Status (SMS). After four years investigating Apple’s restrictions on browser engines and web apps, the CMA now has statutory authority to enforce a code of conduct.
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Reason: Push is only half of whats needed. Web Push is gated behind install. Install for native is easy, for web apps it's hidden to the point developers are forced to build native apps, the very developers that would be using web push.
Missing lots of features.
webventures.rejh.nl/blog/2024/we...
Missing lots of features.
webventures.rejh.nl/blog/2024/we...
October 28, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Reason: Push is only half of whats needed. Web Push is gated behind install. Install for native is easy, for web apps it's hidden to the point developers are forced to build native apps, the very developers that would be using web push.
Missing lots of features.
webventures.rejh.nl/blog/2024/we...
Missing lots of features.
webventures.rejh.nl/blog/2024/we...
Safari bugs don't just make Safari worse, they make EVERY OTHER BROWSER on iOS worse. #AppleBrowserBan
One of my jobs on Chrome is quantifying overall product quality signals. This quarter we're taking a hit on crashes entirely due to iOS, which looks to be primarily due to WebKit and iOS bugs. When I try to check on the status of the current major one (bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi...), I get this:
October 10, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Safari bugs don't just make Safari worse, they make EVERY OTHER BROWSER on iOS worse. #AppleBrowserBan
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
One of my jobs on Chrome is quantifying overall product quality signals. This quarter we're taking a hit on crashes entirely due to iOS, which looks to be primarily due to WebKit and iOS bugs. When I try to check on the status of the current major one (bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi...), I get this:
October 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
One of my jobs on Chrome is quantifying overall product quality signals. This quarter we're taking a hit on crashes entirely due to iOS, which looks to be primarily due to WebKit and iOS bugs. When I try to check on the status of the current major one (bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi...), I get this:
Last week, OWA spoke at the 🇪🇺EU Parliament’s Digital Markets Act Working Group on Apple’s ongoing non-compliance with the DMA and why the open web is vital for Europe’s digital future.
🔗 Read our full speech:
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/owa-at-...
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🔗 Read our full speech:
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/owa-at-...
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OWA at the EU Parliament DMA Working Group - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
October 10, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Last week, OWA spoke at the 🇪🇺EU Parliament’s Digital Markets Act Working Group on Apple’s ongoing non-compliance with the DMA and why the open web is vital for Europe’s digital future.
🔗 Read our full speech:
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/owa-at-...
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🔗 Read our full speech:
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/owa-at-...
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Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
Apple's playbook is the same as Big Oil's: delay is winning.
It's good the EU didn't give away its power to regulate like a common Chuck Schumer, but Apple is brazenly violating the DMA to deny EU citizens real browser choice because it threatens the App Store:
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
It's good the EU didn't give away its power to regulate like a common Chuck Schumer, but Apple is brazenly violating the DMA to deny EU citizens real browser choice because it threatens the App Store:
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
Apple's Antitrust Playbook - Infrequently Noted
Apple wants to launder the consequences of its own anticompetitive, anti-user choices through a credulous tech press. The goal is to frame regulators for Apple's own deeds, and it's rotten to the…
infrequently.org
September 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Apple's playbook is the same as Big Oil's: delay is winning.
It's good the EU didn't give away its power to regulate like a common Chuck Schumer, but Apple is brazenly violating the DMA to deny EU citizens real browser choice because it threatens the App Store:
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
It's good the EU didn't give away its power to regulate like a common Chuck Schumer, but Apple is brazenly violating the DMA to deny EU citizens real browser choice because it threatens the App Store:
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
"so, um, this law you passed...yes, we know we're not complying, and, well, you see, it's *inconvenient* that we keep getting caught trying to mislead you. Could you scrap it? Cheers."
-- Cupertino
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
-- Cupertino
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Apple asks EU to scrap landmark digital competition law
Apple asked the European Union to scrap its landmark digital competition law on Thursday, arguing that it poses security risks and creates a "worse experience" for consumers.
www.france24.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:49 AM
"so, um, this law you passed...yes, we know we're not complying, and, well, you see, it's *inconvenient* that we keep getting caught trying to mislead you. Could you scrap it? Cheers."
-- Cupertino
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
-- Cupertino
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Apple's Assault on Standards: Alex Russell dives deep into Apple's decade of harm and sabotage of the web and web standards.
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
Apple's Assault on Standards - Infrequently Noted
By subverting the voluntary nature of open standards, Apple has defanged them as tools that users might use against the totalising power of native apps in their digital lives. This high-modernist appr...
infrequently.org
September 4, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Apple's Assault on Standards: Alex Russell dives deep into Apple's decade of harm and sabotage of the web and web standards.
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
infrequently.org/2025/09/appl...
Perplexity just offered $34.5B to buy Chrome!
🚨The big question: without a legal obligation, will they fund the web platform that the world relies on at anywhere near Google’s ~$1B/year level?
Our answer: probably not.
New OWA Article: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/can-per...
🧵 Let's break it down
🚨The big question: without a legal obligation, will they fund the web platform that the world relies on at anywhere near Google’s ~$1B/year level?
Our answer: probably not.
New OWA Article: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/can-per...
🧵 Let's break it down
Can Perplexity Afford to Fund the Web? The $34.5 Billion-Dollar Question - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 13, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Perplexity just offered $34.5B to buy Chrome!
🚨The big question: without a legal obligation, will they fund the web platform that the world relies on at anywhere near Google’s ~$1B/year level?
Our answer: probably not.
New OWA Article: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/can-per...
🧵 Let's break it down
🚨The big question: without a legal obligation, will they fund the web platform that the world relies on at anywhere near Google’s ~$1B/year level?
Our answer: probably not.
New OWA Article: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/can-per...
🧵 Let's break it down
The Register covers 🇯🇵 Japan's new law:
"Apple now faces challenges to its WebKit browser requirement in three jurisdictions, as authorities around the globe try to jumpstart competition in the mobile software industry." –The Register
🔗Read all about it here www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/a...
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"Apple now faces challenges to its WebKit browser requirement in three jurisdictions, as authorities around the globe try to jumpstart competition in the mobile software industry." –The Register
🔗Read all about it here www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/a...
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Apple's WebKit browser requirement may break Japanese law
: Three jurisdictions now want browser engine variety for a better mobile market
www.theregister.com
August 7, 2025 at 7:11 AM
The Register covers 🇯🇵 Japan's new law:
"Apple now faces challenges to its WebKit browser requirement in three jurisdictions, as authorities around the globe try to jumpstart competition in the mobile software industry." –The Register
🔗Read all about it here www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/a...
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"Apple now faces challenges to its WebKit browser requirement in three jurisdictions, as authorities around the globe try to jumpstart competition in the mobile software industry." –The Register
🔗Read all about it here www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/a...
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Japan 🇯🇵 has officially banned Apple’s iOS browser engine restrictions.
Starting Dec 2025, iPhones must allow real Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others to run their own engines, just like on desktop.
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open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Starting Dec 2025, iPhones must allow real Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others to run their own engines, just like on desktop.
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open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Japan: Apple Must Lift Engine Ban by December - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Japan 🇯🇵 has officially banned Apple’s iOS browser engine restrictions.
Starting Dec 2025, iPhones must allow real Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others to run their own engines, just like on desktop.
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open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Starting Dec 2025, iPhones must allow real Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi and others to run their own engines, just like on desktop.
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open-web-advocacy.org/blog/japan-a...
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
Apple's antipathy towards the web, and the success of web developers, could not be deeper. It's only matched by their functional suppression of the web on iOS. If you build for the web for a living, take note.
Functionality limitations in web apps stem from Apple’s own restrictions on web browsers, undermining their ability to compete with native apps.
July 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Apple's antipathy towards the web, and the success of web developers, could not be deeper. It's only matched by their functional suppression of the web on iOS. If you build for the web for a living, take note.
Bruce Lawson's summary of the UK's preliminary designation decision, check it out:
🔥 "why the CMA does not aim to create a default interoperability requirement is beyond my small brain to fathom. I’ll be raising it in my response to the consultation"
brucelawson.co.uk/2025/cma-des...
🔥 "why the CMA does not aim to create a default interoperability requirement is beyond my small brain to fathom. I’ll be raising it in my response to the consultation"
brucelawson.co.uk/2025/cma-des...
Bruce Lawson's personal site
» CMA designates Google and Apple, proposes measures
brucelawson.co.uk
July 25, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Bruce Lawson's summary of the UK's preliminary designation decision, check it out:
🔥 "why the CMA does not aim to create a default interoperability requirement is beyond my small brain to fathom. I’ll be raising it in my response to the consultation"
brucelawson.co.uk/2025/cma-des...
🔥 "why the CMA does not aim to create a default interoperability requirement is beyond my small brain to fathom. I’ll be raising it in my response to the consultation"
brucelawson.co.uk/2025/cma-des...
The 🇬🇧 UK regulator has provisionally found that Apple and Google meet the threshold for Strategic Market Status (SMS) under the DMCC. In Apple’s case, the decision highlights its ban on competing browser engines and its actions to suppress competition from web apps.
UK Regulator Flags Apple’s iOS Browser Engine Ban in Draft SMS Designation - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 23, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The 🇬🇧 UK regulator has provisionally found that Apple and Google meet the threshold for Strategic Market Status (SMS) under the DMCC. In Apple’s case, the decision highlights its ban on competing browser engines and its actions to suppress competition from web apps.
Austria’s Der Standard highlights our coverage of Apple’s ongoing barriers preventing browser vendors from finally porting their engines to iOS.
The headline says it all: "Apple and the merely theoretical browser freedom on the iPhone"
www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/...
The headline says it all: "Apple and the merely theoretical browser freedom on the iPhone"
www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/...
"So schmerzhaft wie möglich": Apple und die bloß theoretische Browserfreiheit am iPhone
Die Open Web Advocacy übt scharfe Kritik an dem Hardwarehersteller. Arbiträre Beschränkungen verhindern, dass neue Freiheiten durch den Digital Markets Act in Bezug auf eigene Browser-Engines auch gen...
www.derstandard.at
July 22, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Austria’s Der Standard highlights our coverage of Apple’s ongoing barriers preventing browser vendors from finally porting their engines to iOS.
The headline says it all: "Apple and the merely theoretical browser freedom on the iPhone"
www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/...
The headline says it all: "Apple and the merely theoretical browser freedom on the iPhone"
www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/...
Now 🔥AppleInsider covers the #AppleBrowserBan
"Apple has created a program that lets third-party browser engines come to iOS, yet keeps security and privacy in mind. "And for whatever reason, they've chosen not to do so." - Apple
appleinsider.com/articles/25/...
"Apple has created a program that lets third-party browser engines come to iOS, yet keeps security and privacy in mind. "And for whatever reason, they've chosen not to do so." - Apple
appleinsider.com/articles/25/...
Apple still effectively blocks rival browser engines on iOS despite EU order
The Open Web Advocacy group claims that despite claiming to allow rival browser engines on the iPhone, Apple has made it impossible for developers to create them.
appleinsider.com
July 16, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Now 🔥AppleInsider covers the #AppleBrowserBan
"Apple has created a program that lets third-party browser engines come to iOS, yet keeps security and privacy in mind. "And for whatever reason, they've chosen not to do so." - Apple
appleinsider.com/articles/25/...
"Apple has created a program that lets third-party browser engines come to iOS, yet keeps security and privacy in mind. "And for whatever reason, they've chosen not to do so." - Apple
appleinsider.com/articles/25/...
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
New OWA Report: Apple’s Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
New OWA Report: Apple’s Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
🔥Now 9to5Mac quotes OWA:
"Apple claimed it didn’t know why no browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS over the past 15 months. But the reality is Apple knows exactly what the barriers are, and has chosen not to remove them."
👉 9to5mac.com/2025/07/14/a...
"Apple claimed it didn’t know why no browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS over the past 15 months. But the reality is Apple knows exactly what the barriers are, and has chosen not to remove them."
👉 9to5mac.com/2025/07/14/a...
July 14, 2025 at 2:04 PM
🔥Now 9to5Mac quotes OWA:
"Apple claimed it didn’t know why no browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS over the past 15 months. But the reality is Apple knows exactly what the barriers are, and has chosen not to remove them."
👉 9to5mac.com/2025/07/14/a...
"Apple claimed it didn’t know why no browser vendor has ported their engine to iOS over the past 15 months. But the reality is Apple knows exactly what the barriers are, and has chosen not to remove them."
👉 9to5mac.com/2025/07/14/a...
🔥 The Verge just covered our fight to open up iOS to real browser competition.
🚫Apple’s Browser Engine ban blocks the real alternatives
📖 Read what The Verge had to say:
www.theverge.com/news/706569/...
🚫Apple’s Browser Engine ban blocks the real alternatives
📖 Read what The Verge had to say:
www.theverge.com/news/706569/...
Where are the iPhone’s WebKit-less browsers?
The OWA says Apple has too many barriers in place.
www.theverge.com
July 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
🔥 The Verge just covered our fight to open up iOS to real browser competition.
🚫Apple’s Browser Engine ban blocks the real alternatives
📖 Read what The Verge had to say:
www.theverge.com/news/706569/...
🚫Apple’s Browser Engine ban blocks the real alternatives
📖 Read what The Verge had to say:
www.theverge.com/news/706569/...
New OWA Report: Apple’s Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
New OWA Report: Apple’s Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
Despite big claims at the recent DMA workshops, Apple continues to block competing browser engines on iOS in the EU.
👉 Read the details 📺 Watch the video
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-...
🧵Let's Dive In
🚀 OWA volunteer James Heppell shares his experience representing us at the Apple & Google DMA workshop.
His personal take, now #1 on Hacker News, offers sharp insight into gatekeepers' approach to the law.
Check it out:
formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/ap...
His personal take, now #1 on Hacker News, offers sharp insight into gatekeepers' approach to the law.
Check it out:
formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/ap...
Apple Vs The Law
Apple & Google at the DMA compliance workshops, June 2025
formularsumo.co.uk
July 11, 2025 at 10:27 AM
🚀 OWA volunteer James Heppell shares his experience representing us at the Apple & Google DMA workshop.
His personal take, now #1 on Hacker News, offers sharp insight into gatekeepers' approach to the law.
Check it out:
formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/ap...
His personal take, now #1 on Hacker News, offers sharp insight into gatekeepers' approach to the law.
Check it out:
formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/ap...
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
iOS automatically placing the selected choice screen browser on the dock doubled Firefox' daily active users & further increased DuckDuckGo's app retention by a factor 9.
Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU?
Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU?
Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 8, 2025 at 3:21 PM
iOS automatically placing the selected choice screen browser on the dock doubled Firefox' daily active users & further increased DuckDuckGo's app retention by a factor 9.
Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU?
Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
Why isn't Android required to do the same in the EU?
Agree with @open-web-advocacy.org open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
Reposted by Open Web Advocacy
Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy 🫤 To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple puts the user’s chosen browser in the hotseat. Google refuses to do the same on Android, leaving Chrome in the hotseat and undermining user choice.
That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 4, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy 🫤 To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple puts the user’s chosen browser in the hotseat. Google refuses to do the same on Android, leaving Chrome in the hotseat and undermining user choice.
That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy 🫤 To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple puts the user’s chosen browser in the hotseat. Google refuses to do the same on Android, leaving Chrome in the hotseat and undermining user choice.
That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy - Open Web Advocacy
open-web-advocacy.org
July 4, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Google's Hotseat Hypocrisy 🫤 To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple puts the user’s chosen browser in the hotseat. Google refuses to do the same on Android, leaving Chrome in the hotseat and undermining user choice.
That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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That’s not DMA compliance!
open-web-advocacy.org/blog/googles...
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