USB always had it, this isn't just what they came up with for USB-C. Panasonic Toughbooks have that single screw versions and matching gasket countersinking for USBs.
Apple would be free to work on "more elegant" common standards instead of trying to force people into their ecosystem by using proprietary garbage, which then has to be forbidden by the EU yet again.
It's hard to tell given the lack of appropriate pictures, but it seems like that "solution" is basically recessing the USB-C port so deeply that only their cable can reach it.