Fair enough - a law is overkill.

The issue I have is that phones and tablets are slowly replacing general purpose computers for the majority of people (at least for day to day use), and there's a fundamental difference in how they operate when it comes to software freedom.

Apple can't be considered a monopoly because there's still a choice of Android, but what happens in the future if the ability to sideload applications on Android phones is removed?

We end up in a scenario where every application must be funneled through an app store where the hardware manufacturer can take a cut of the sales, and I'm not okay with that.

"If you don't like being abused, go find someone who will not abuse you."

this is an excessively dramatic take on the situation. apple isn't doing anything sneaky here. their whole brand essentially boils down to a line of locked-down, tightly integrated products that do what they are intended to do (by apple) very well. I don't think anyone is confused/misled about this. if you don't trust apple to do the right thing for you most of the time, or if you don't like the idea of a company deciding what the right thing to do is, this is not the brand for you.

I used to have this exact argument with my dad all the time in the early 2010s; he liked apple and I liked android. I couldn't understand it at the time, but my dad liked how locked-down all his devices were. it removed a major source of anxiety he had using technology. years later, I realized it was pretty cool that we could both have phone OSes the way we wanted them.