Photo by Elizabeth Frantz-Pool.
Big Tech is expectedly angry as the Senate Judiciary Committee moves towards passing legislation that could loosen Big Tech's grasp on consumers. A coalition of smaller tech companies has voiced their support for Apple and other companies who have written letters against new legislation.
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act are two pieces of legislation that have caused an uproar.
Tim Powderly, Apple's senior director of government affairs, penned a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, and the panel's ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley. The Open App Markets Act would allow users to sideload apps from third-party sources, which would endanger the safety of the App Store. These apps are not subject to the same safety and security standards that Apple requires of their competitors in the App Store.
It would be ironic if Congress made it harder to protect the privacy and security of Americans' personal devices.
It would be ironic if Congress responded by making it much harder to protect the privacy and security of Americans' personal devices after a tumultuous year that saw multiple controversies regarding social media, whistle-blower allegations of long-ignored risks to children, and ransomware attacks that hobbled critical infrastructure. The bills would do that.
If you download an app from outside the App Store, you won't be subject to Apple's App Tracking transparency policy, which lets users choose the kinds of data that apps are allowed to track. Tim Cook said last year that side loading would destroy the security of the iPhone and that it would force people to get permission to track across apps. Craig Federighi, Apple senior vice president, stated that sideloading puts people's data at risk.
Apple currently collects a commission of 15 to 30 percent on in-app purchases on apps downloaded from its App Store. The prevailing issue behind the Apple case is that the company prevents developers from incorporating alternate payment processors. The company says it will still take a commission from those purchases, but it is not clear how much that will be.
The legislation could hurt US technological leadership by giving Americans less relevant products, according to the company.
If the antitrust laws pass, the best services to consumers would not be offered by Google, according to the company's own post. Since the American Innovation and Choice Online Act would make it harder for the company to prioritize its own services, it may not be able to offer consumers the best online experience.
The legislation could hurt US technological leadership by giving Americans less relevant and less helpful versions of products like Google Search and Maps. The SafeBrowsing service, which blocks pop-ups, viruses, and malware, is one of the security features that would be prevented by the company from being integrated by default.
Updating technology regulations in areas like privacy, artificial intelligence, and protections for kids and families could provide real benefits. Kent Walker, the president of global affairs and chief legal officer at the company, said that breaking the products wouldn't address the issues. It would eliminate helpful features, expose people to new privacy and security risks, and weaken America's technological leadership.
Apple charges developers a 15 to 30 percent commission on their work. Dozens of states filed lawsuits against the company last year because of the practice. In 2020, the company sued the company, claiming that the company's payment restrictions on the Play Store constitute a monopoly.
minant technology companies can use design tactics to steer people away from their competitors.
There are still other voices that support the legislation, even though they are smaller than Apple and Google. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act was the subject of a letter posted by companies including Wyze, DuckDuckGo, and the Tor Project. Big Tech has prevented them from competing on the merits.
minant technology companies can use a variety of tactics to steer individuals away from rival services, restrict the ability of competitors to interoperate on the platform, use non-public data to benefit the companies' own services or products, and make it impossible or complicated for users to change their default settings. These tactics harm competition and deprive consumers of innovative offerings.
None of the antitrust bills passed by the House Judiciary Committee have become law. The American Innovation and Choice Online act will be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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