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Apple limits third-party browser engine work to EU devices (www.theregister.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The Register has learned from those involved in the browser trade that Apple has limited the development and testing of third-party browser engines to devices physically located in the EU. That requirement adds an additional barrier to anyone planning to develop and support a browser with an alternative engine in the EU.

It effectively geofences the development team. Browser-makers whose dev teams are located in the US will only be able to work on simulators. While some testing can be done in a simulator, there's no substitute for testing on device – which means developers will have to work within Apple's prescribed geographical boundary.

... as Mozilla put it – to make it "as painful as possible for others to provide competitive alternatives to Safari."

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

iOS would have root access to aGPS (or even real GPS) to determine location. There's no easy way to spoof that against a determined asshole actor.