Hank Johnson of Georgia is co-sponsoring the House bill. In addition to the congressional bills, Google is fighting a lawsuit from a group of state attorneys general who also argue that the company’s sky-high app store fees constitute an unlawful monopoly. “Their power has reached a point where they are impacting the whole economy in stifling and strangling innovation.” “I found this predatory abuse of Apple and Google so deeply offensive on so many levels,” Blumenthal said earlier this week. AFP via Getty ImagesĪpple has previously defended its restrictive app store as “an unprecedented engine of economic growth and innovation” and claimed the store “supports more than 2.1 million jobs across all 50 states.” Under CEO Sundar Pichai, Google requires developers who distribute apps through the Play Store to use the company’s payments processor, which charges fees of up to 30 percent. Google and Apple did not immediately reply to requests for comment. That bill would also allow developers to use third-party app stores and bar big app stores from requiring use of their payment systems. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as well as Republican Sen. “For far too long, companies like Google and Apple have had a stranglehold on app developers who are forced to take whatever terms these monopolists set in order to reach their customers,” said Buck.īuck and Johnson’s House bill follows the Senate bill introduced earlier this week by Democratic Sens. Ken Buck of Colorado is co-sponsoring the legislation.
Hank Johnson of Georgia - slammed both companies’ app store policies as squashing competition and hurting developers. Ken Buck of Colorado - who introduced the House bill alongside Democratic Rep. However, developers who use the Google’s Play Store are required to use the company’s payments processor, which also charges fees of up to 30 percent.
Google, unlike Apple, lets users download apps from outside app stores. Prayer to Push for Reconciliation with Kim Kardashian. Epic is right,” said a typically blunt Musk in reference to Fortnite developer’s lawsuit. 14 hours ago &0183 &32 Download The App App Store Google Play Contact. “Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet. Apple CEO Tim Cook has defended the company’s lucrative App Store policies, which critics say are too restrictive. In the lawsuit, which has yet to be decided, Epic blasted the 30 percent commissions Apple charges larger developers, saying were only possible because the iPhone maker maintained an unlawful monopoly.Īpple has admitted it made “at least” $100 million from commissions on the popular Fortnite video game alone - and raked in $22 billion in overall App Store commissions last year.įacebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have also slammed Apple’s App Store practices. The bill, a companion to a Senate bill introduced earlier this week, would also stop the tech giants from requiring app developers to use Apple or Google’s payment systems - a major point of contention behind an ongoing legal battle between Fortnite developer Epic Games and Apple. Rupert Murdoch slams Big Tech’s censorship of conservativesĪpple and Google’s lucrative app stores are under threat from bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress this week.Ī bill introduced in the House on Friday would bar Apple and Google from blocking users from downloading apps from third-party app stores.
UK set to block Facebook parent Meta’s $315M acquisition of Giphyįacebook critics love whistleblower Frances Haugen’s leaks but hate her policy ideas UK antitrust watchdog orders Facebook to sell off gif-sharing platform Yale App is an integrated security solution that controls the opening and closing of your Yale smart door locks through your smartphone application and provides.