New Bipartisan Bill to target the Payment Systems of Apple & Google App Store

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US Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn presented a new bill. They are looking to break up the power of Apple and Google’s app store payment systems. The legislation was dubbed the Open App Markets Act and was designed to set fair, clear, and enforceable rules to protect competition and strengthen consumer protections within the app market.  The bill will give developers the option to prevent using tech companies’ existing app store payment systems. The new legislation would also bar tech giants from retaliating against developers who choose to offer lower prices through a separate app store or via their own payment systems. The new proposal will also prohibit tech giants from using nonpublic data to build products that would compete against developers using their service.

Moreover, the US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and state attorneys general could take action against the platforms, and developers would be entitled to sue for injunctive relief. Blumenthal said, “The legislation will tear down coercive anticompetitive walls in the app economy. It will give consumers more choices and smaller startup tech companies a fighting chance. For years, Apple and Google have squashed competitors and kept consumers in the dark pocketing hefty windfalls while acting as supposedly benevolent gatekeepers of this multi-billion dollars market. This bipartisan bill will help break these tech giants’ ironclad grip, open the app economy to new competitors, and give mobile users more control over their own devices.” Blackburn also argued that big tech is forcing their own app stores on users at the expense of innovative start-ups.

She said, “Apple and Google want to prevent developers and consumers from using third-party app stores that would threaten their bottom line. Their anti-competitive conduct is a direct affront to a free and fair marketplace”. Klobuchar emphasized that competition in the app market is critical to protecting small businesses and consumers, spurring innovation, and promoting economic equity. She said, “As mobile technologies have become essential to our daily lives, it has become clear that a few gatekeepers control the app marketplace, wielding incredible power over which apps consumers can access. This raises serious competition concerns. By establishing new rules for app stores, this legislation levels the playing field and is an important step forward in ensuring an innovative and competitive app marketplace”.