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Op-Ed: Legislation needed to address lack of
app store competition
By Rick VanMeter |
Coalition for App Fairness
At a time when divisions
between Republicans and Democrats can seem as wide and deep as the Grand
Canyon, both sides of the aisle increasingly agree on the need to hold
Big Tech accountable. One area of growing consensus is opening the
mobile app marketplace to real competition and preventing app store
gatekeepers from stacking the decks against rival app developers and
their customers. |
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 The progress and support for this effort can be seen in Arizona with bipartisan
momentum for House Bill 2200. It can also be seen in Washington with the recent
passage of the Open App Markets Act in the Senate Judiciary Committee by an
overwhelming vote of 20-2. This targeted legislation garnered the support of
conservatives like U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Josh
Hawley – as well as liberal Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker
and Dick Durbin.
In Arizona and Washington, both sides recognize that legislation is needed to
strengthen the app economy for developers while also serving consumers through
increased competition and accountability. These efforts are complementary in a
federal system.
Lawmakers should also not be fooled by the scare tactics, such as those in a
recent op-ed on this site, that are increasingly used by gatekeepers to justify
their top-down control of the app marketplace.
For example, the authors claim that opening up the app store to competition in
app distribution and payment options would pose security risks to users.
However, Apple already allows payment options for users on some apps, and
already allows direct downloads outside of the app store on its Mac desktop and
laptop computers. There is no reason consumers should not have the same freedom
and choice on the “computers in their pockets” that they already have with the
computers on their desks.
Further, device security for iPhones and iPads is built in through numerous
security measures including data encryption, firewall, and antivirus features as
well as a “sandbox” model that limits apps’ access to the phone’s resources. The
App Store review provides marginal – if any – additional security protections,
and certainly does not justify Apple’s many anti-competitive practices.
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Apple uses these pretextual claims about security to give its own products and
services an unfair advantage over competing apps by imposing roadblocks and fees
that can undermine the user experience and increase costs on consumers and
developers. Apple even uses its rules to secure critical data and technology
from third-party developers, which it has used to launch competing products and
services.
Arizonans would be surprised to know that developers do not always have the
ability to manage customer payments within their own app. And that developers
are restricted in communicating with their users, hurting their ability to
provide the best service and experience. App users should always have a choice
in how they pay for services, install software, and use their mobile devices.
Proposed state legislation has also exposed the extreme lengths app store
gatekeepers will go to prevent competition in the digital marketplace. Apple,
now worth nearly $3 trillion, has spent gobs of money to intimidate and threaten
state lawmakers from supporting app store reform bills. Apple’s ability to use
its largesse to silence debate and prevent legislation from coming to a vote is
bad for democracy. Similarly, its market power and top-down control of the app
marketplace are terrible for innovation, competition, and consumers.
Change will only come to the mobile app market when legislators, regulators, and
courts take bold action to hold gatekeepers accountable and impose strong
enforcement provisions to prevent anti-competitive practices even among the
largest and wealthiest companies in the world. We look forward to continuing our
work to support lawmakers and policymakers at every level of government in the
United States and around the world to create a better digital marketplace for
all.
Rick VanMeter is the executive director of the Coalition for App
Fairness |
