Mark Zuckerberg says Apple's App Store 'deserves scrutiny'
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday said that Apple has "unilateral control" over the App Store, and said that the platform "deserves scrutiny."
Credit: Facebook, Getty Images
The social media executive made the comments in an interview with Axios when asked about whether Apple's App Store was a monopoly. Both Apple and Facebook are under antitrust investigation by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
"Well I certainly think that they have the unilateral control of what gets on the phones in terms of apps," Zuckerberg told Axios. "So, I do think that there are questions that people should be looking into about that control of the App Store and whether that is enabling as robust of a competitive dynamic."
Zuckerberg then contrasted the App Store with the Google Play Store, and praised Google for permitting sideloaded apps -- or apps that are downloaded from alternate app stores.
"As a developer if you're not in the Google Play Store, at least you still have a way to get your app on people's devices," Zuckerberg said. "I think that that's really important, that people have a way to create something and get it on devices if people want."
However, the Facebook CEO didn't specify whether the government should investigate the App Store policies.
"I think I'm not necessarily the person to answer that ... I think some of the behavior certainly raises questions. And I do think it's something that deserves scrutiny," he said.
This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has taken aim at the App Store. In August, during an internal company webcast, Zuckerberg said that the App Store blocks innovation and competition, and allows Apple to charge "monopoly rents."
Those comments were in response to an employee question about Apple's ongoing legal saga with Epic Games. Earlier that month, Epic baited Apple into removing "Fortnite" from the App Store and launched a lawsuit and marketing campaign when it did.
In late July, both Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee as part of the investigation into the tech giants' power and control over platforms.
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Comments
This is why Instagram and WhatsApp are going to be taking away by the DOJ
No trust
I think that Apple should reinstate the ad protections in iOS 14 as originally planned (and on which they were starting to back off).
Anything which can distract attention from Facebook's numerous and public failings can only be a good thing. Especially in an election year with the Russians, Chinese, and even the Iranians doing all they can to influence the election's outcome - and of course their favorite tool is faked account posts and advertisements on social media.
And his criticism has nothing to do with the fact that iOS 14's tracking opt-in/out feature will reported (by Facebook) reduce advertising revenue by 50%.
So ... what's Facebook's cut of the advertising dollar when a developer implements their ad network in their app, anyhow? Can a developer negotiate for a higher cut of that advertising dollar?
And no - Apple should not be trying to take a cut from programs designed to help those down and out, no matter what the "we treat all developers the same" stated policy is.