Mike Peterson
Top legal officials from Spotify, Match, and Tile will speak at an upcoming Senate antitrust hearing examining the Apple and Google app stores.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights plans to call Horacio Gutierrez, Kirsten Daru, and Jared Sine, top legal officials from Spotify, Tile, and Match Group, respectively. The hearing is slated for Wednesday, April 21.
In addition to the witnesses from Spotify, Tile, and Match, Google's Wilson White, senior director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, will join Apple's Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer in the spotlight at the hearing, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Spotify, Tile, and Match Group have all voiced concerns about Apple's App Store policies. Spotify, for example, claims that Apple favors its own Apple Music platform across its ecosystem, while Tile believes that Apple's Find My app could give its rumored "AirTags" tracking devices an advantage over third-party competitors.
The Senate subcommittee is investigating Apple and Google over antitrust issues and allegations of anti-competitive behavior.
Apple initially decided to skip the Senate hearing, drawing ire from lawmakers. A few days after the Senate penned a letter urging the company to reconsider its decision, Apple confirmed that Andeer would testify.
The chair of the Senate subcommittee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), in March signaled plans to hold multiple hearings on technology-related topics, including app stores.
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11 Comments
Apple didn't decline to send someone, Apple requested a different date stating that there are "upcoming matters that have been scheduled for some time and that touch on similar issues", this can apply to many things, such as the keynote which will undoubtedly hold some function for Tile - as well as the next court hearing for Epic on May 3.
Politicians doing what politicians do best came out with a strawman statement, claiming that Apple declined and how horrible Apple are for declining.
How about this. Apple and Google get out of the App Store business altogether. Let the developers fend for themselves in setting up a store, letting them pay for advertising, server space, payment processing. Of course third party storefronts will arise offering to provide said services and then charging developers an arm and a leg to be in their storefront. That’s how it works now with the Mac outside the Mac App Store. Naturally small developers will get shafted and go by the wayside. Consumers will have a devil of a time finding useful apps but, hey, that’s too bad. And ban mobile device manufacturers from developing their own apps while you’re at it. Ship the devices without any basic apps like email, browsers, messaging, etc. Let the user try to find and install their own stuff.
So go ahead, government, do it! Let’s see how it goes.
I fully support Apple opening up its ecosystem for anyone to open any store or release any app they want commission free, just like I support Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Gamestop, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target doing the same, offering direct sales with no cut taken by the big box retailers.
How about instead of those who have a biased and profit-based interest in the outcome, they invite someone like Joe Consumer to the hearings. Seems very lacking when only the business owners (who all lie anyway) are called and testify.
Perhaps just a reading of public forums like this (with very definite views) would be enlightening.
Might as well ask for a pink polo pony while I'm dreaming.