> One of the first links is leading to MacPaw's website.

Yikes, Google results are bad these days! They seem to focus on Mac applications, not iOS app store alternatives.

> But are there any real 3rd-party AppStores for iOS now?

Yes, the main one I am familiar with is AltStore: https://altstore.io

However, according to Apple's docs, they only allow alternative app stores in the EU and Japan, so you have to be using an iOS account with the region set to one of those two places and be physically located there in order to install the app store. Not something that's easy to experiment with for people in the USA to see how the other half lives.

> Or is EU just trying to milk rich USA tech giants (I think I know the answer).

I don't really see an angle for the EU to do much milking here. Actually I think the AltStore founders are Americans? So they seem to be reaping the benefits of EU and Japanese legislation, remotely.

> However, according to Apple's docs, they only allow alternative app stores in the EU and Japan

Also: even though Apple is explicitly told not to censor these alternative stores, Apple effectively does this through notarization