That would really defeat the whole purpose... I'm sure this is not the intention of this law.

However it is indeed possible that Apple would weasel such a requirement through the loopholes, yes.

The more they try to block this, the heavier the regulations are going to be on them.

At some point Apple might see itself being split apart because of its constant and well documented abuse of it's status in the market.

What market abuse? And what do you split up? Apple is a hardware company, all the software they write is purely to make the hardware they sell attractive to consumers.

Apple is now a services company: https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/20/18273179/apple-icloud-itu...

> all the software they write is purely to make the hardware they sell attractive to consumers.

This view of Apple as a pure-platform company does not comport with reality

Into what and what, exactly?

You could imagine the hardware manufacturing/os component of apple being split from the services part of apple.

Who should pay for the cost of development then? Apple has always been very clear, the store commission is for use of their IP. Any other store can undercut apple because they don’t have to pay any of the development costs for the platform.

There is no weaseling, it is very simple: the commission covers the licensing. The alternative is saying that apple must develop software, give it away for free, then let random stores make a profit selling software that they contributed nothing to.

It is exactly equivalent to the EU saying that a company should be free to use GPL software however they like, including selling at a profit, without providing the sources.

I agree. Expect Apple to come up with some kind of contingency plan, so they can maximize profits and control, at the expense of their users.