Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and a group of bipartisan lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would prevent big tech from operating as “unaccountable gatekeepers” for the mobile app economy.
Sens. Blackburn, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Open App Markets Act, a bill aimed at setting clear and enforceable rules of consumer protections within the app market.
“Big Tech giants have operated as unaccountable gatekeepers of the mobile app economy, forcing American consumers to use their app stores at the expense of innovative startups that threaten their bottom line,” Blackburn said in a statement.
“Our bipartisan Open App Markets Act would ensure a freer and fairer marketplace for consumers and small businesses by promoting competition in the app marketplace and opening the door to more choices and innovation,” she added.
With the advent of the smartphone, mobile devices have become a central aspect of the American consumers’ economic, social, and civic lives. The bipartisan group of lawmakers asserted that their legislation would break Apple and Google’s predominant “grip on the app economy.”
Blackburn’s press release about the legislation noted that consumers spent $92 billion on the Apple App Store and roughly $35.7 billion on the Google Play Store.
Apple has actively worked to prevent users from using third-party app stores on Apple devices, requiring app users and developers to use their Apple payment system.
The lawmakers stated that startups often face serious challenges because big tech can prioritize their own app to the disadvantage of smaller competitors.
Hellbound and Down 