Would this forbid a certain type of product from using something better, and force new design to be via committees?
I mean, it's not like Europe uses all the same mains power plugs. Well, I guess UK leaving will help there.
I'll take the UK plug any day. It is bigger by far in two unimportant dimensions but thinner by far in the important one. The chord runs downwards on all UK plugs not at 90 degrees to the wall by default but I will accept that many Euro plugs also run downwards.
A UK plug is a big old beast which means it is easy to wire and it does not wobble and is very safe to insert and remove. The long earth prong of the UK plug makes it easy to insert even when blind/blinded.
At some point there are aspects that see little innovations, are “good enough” for their purpose, while having sizeable impact on their user or their environment.
We’re not forbidding phone makers to make holographic displays, just to settle on one standard plug because nothing happens there for years now and they don’t seem invested in making leaps forward in the domain either.
The day there is something revolutionary they can ask for an exception.
"You must use the standard, unless doing so would have a substantial impact on your product's capabilities." (I wrote this in 30 seconds, replace with more legally sound version.)
I feel like Apple would have a hard time arguing the lightening is technically more capable than USB-C. But if they want to create something that is a clear improvement, they can go for it... until a standardized version catches up.
I think another good argument for phones is that it's surely much easier to clean lint out of a lightning port than a USB C port.
Edit: But probably, I'd guess, right now the main reason Apple has stuck to lightning to whatever extent it is is because it's more convenient for its customers. USB C is already the standard, and Apple would benefit from switching to USB C across its product line if its customers would like that more.
Regarding this specifically, I think it's because Apple makes money from licensing Lightning cables and lightning accessories.