Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren thinks Apple exerts “too much power” through its operation of the App Store, and uses this to stifle competition.
Warren tweeted the message Tuesday, complete with the hashtag #BreakUpBigTech. That’s probably not great news for Apple!
Elizabeth Warren: Apple abuses its App Store power
Warren’s tweet contained a link to a recent report from The New York Times, headlined “How Apple Stacked the App Store With Its Own Products.” It discusses the possible conflict of interests with Apple making its own apps while also controlling the App Store.
Apple’s App Store is one of the dominant platforms for app makers, and they’ve got too much power to stifle competition and promote their own products. That’s not right—and it’s why I’ve got a plan to #BreakUpBigTech. https://t.co/C6zVSgTzSt
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 10, 2019
This isn’t the first time Warren made such a complaint. In 2016, she accused Apple of abusing its control of the App Store to hinder competition. More recently, she proposed breaking up tech giants, saying they “bulldozed competition.”
Antitrust investigations
Her latest tweet comes at a time when Congress is starting to carry out antitrust investigations into big tech companies. More than half of U.S. state attorneys general are currently preparing an antitrust investigation into Google. While no Apple probe has been announced by U.S. authorities, Amazon and Facebook are also under observation.
In Europe, the European Commission is already investigating Apple. Specifically, it is looking into the questions of whether Cupertino’s control of the App Store gives it an unfair advantage. A complaint by streaming music service Spotify prompted this probe.
Apple denies favoring its own apps over third-party titles. This week, it said that a new App Store algorithm will handicap its own apps versus those of the competition. Apple also denied Spotify’s allegations. In March, Apple said Spotify used the App Store to grow its business. Now Spotify wants to keep all those benefits, but not have to pay Apple for the platform, Cupertino says.
