Software: Cracking open the app stores
A bill making its way through the Senate could blow up the app stores you know, said Adi Robertson in The Verge. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Open App Markets Act earlier this month, and it looks like a legitimate threat to the Apple/Google app-store duopoly. The bill prohibits “certain anti-competitive behaviors” on the platforms that are common today, such as requiring developers to use only Apple’s or Google’s in-app payment processor; penalizing developers for offering better prices at competing stores; or giving preference to Apple’s or Google’s own apps in search results. The bill would also make it easier for users to “sideload” apps from alternative app stores. “Alongside praise from anti-monopoly watchdogs, the proposal has raised questions about moderation and security.” Apple, for instance, says sideloading would “let developers bypass its privacy and security safeguards.” And a coalition of researchers warned the legislation could “penalize companies for exercising basic editorial judgment on their app stores.”
Most likely, “Apple will avoid serious changes to the App Store in the U.S. for the time being,” said Mark Gurman in Bloomberg, because this is not a major legislative priority. But the reprieve it gets may be short-lived. Europe is also making aggressive efforts to revamp the app store model. And Japan has ruled that media apps must be “allowed to steer users to the web to complete transactions”—a change that could have global impact.
Whether or not you trust the tech giants to keep you secure, Apple is not just going to rethink its business model without a fight, said Nick Statt in Protocol. The company “sees the App Store and its control over the iOS app ecosystem as paramount to the iPhone experience and a vital sector of its services business,” which has become one of its most profitable divisions. This bill threatens all of that, including the “Apple Tax,” the 15 percent to 30 percent cut that Apple takes on all in-app spending.
One company that clearly sees an opening here is Microsoft, said Ryan Tracy and Aaron Tilley in The Wall Street Journal.
Last week, it promised to build a “universal app store” for video games that “would operate by a set of open-market principles.” That includes making it “widely accessible” on various devices and not requiring developers to use a proprietary payment system. The guidelines were clearly “a pitch to regulators to approve its acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard.” But Microsoft has also learned from past experience how to avoid scrutiny in Washington. “We are focused on adapting to regulation rather than fighting it,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith.