On the recordFebruary 7, 2022
here in the United States, the mobile app market represents a reliable multibillion-dollar payday for Big Tech. In 2020, Americans downloaded 13.4 billion apps onto their mobile devices. Needless to say, mobile apps are a key component of our digital economy, so it may be surprising to learn that this market is largely unregulated, unless you count the influence of the two mega corporations that created it. Apple and Google have abused their power and used their status as gatekeepers to stifle innovation and penalize developers who want to work alongside them rather than ceding control over their products. This is bad for the industry. It is bad for consumers. It is bad for the country. These gatekeeping tendencies aren't just a bump in the road for developers; they are a roadblock that completely closes off avenues of competition. Apple, for example, forces developers to use their exorbitantly expensive App Store payment system, which funnels profits away from the creators, and it raises prices for consumers. It is a take-it-or-leave-it arrangement. Of course, when developers do take the deal, they leave their relationship with their customers behind because the terms prohibit them from dealing directly with the people who use their products. They also have to accept that Apple and Google will not only prioritize native applications, but they will take their competitors' confidential business information and use it against them.…





