The EU Wants Pre-Installed Software to Easier to Uninstall

Whenever we buy a tech product like a phone or a laptop, one of the things that occasionally annoys us is the presence of pre-installed software. While you can uninstall some of the pre-installed software in devices, they can take a tedious process to do so–and the European Union (EU) wants to address that after imposing a ruling that all devices should have a USB-C port by 2024.

As part of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU wants to impose stricter regulations for bigger services–specifically those with over 45 monthly users like Android, Windows, and the like. “These platforms will also have to provide users with the choice to not receive recommendations based on profiling. They will also have to facilitate access to their data and algorithms to authorities and vetted researchers.”

This basically means that the EU wants users to have the freedom to uninstall any pre-installed software on their devices, and that tech brands should not allow any form of bloatware to be uninstallable. Those who will not adhere to these new rules can face fines “of up to 10% of its total worldwide turnover in the preceding financial year, or up to 20% in case of repeated non-compliance.”

While this move is as bold as their ruling regarding USB-C (and forcing Apple to adopt USB-C to all devices including iPhones), it remains to be seen how tech brands will comply to this–especially if some of their unique features require specific apps.

Comments (2)