Spotify, Tile, and Match Group call Apple anticompetitive at Senate hearing
Representatives from Spotify, Match Group, and Tinder testified against Apple at a Senate hearing Wednesday, accusing the Cupertino company of anticompetitive conduct.
Credit: WikiMedia Commons
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights held a hearing focused on app marketplaces like the App Store and Google Play Wednesday. It called witnesses from several companies that have accused Apple of abusing its market power.
"Apple abuses its dominant position as a gatekeeper of the App Store to insulate itself from competition and disadvantage rival services like Spotify," said Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify's chief legal officer.
Gutierrez went on to say that third-party developers are what make the iPhone successful, adding that Apple has a long history of "using App Store policies to handicap Spotify and benefit Apple Music."
Match legal representative Jared Sine recounted a story of how Apple allegedly rejected an app update to Tinder that contained features aimed at boosting user safety.
When Sine contacted an Apple executive, the executive "disagreed with our assessment of how to run our business and keep our users safe." Sine added that the person told him that Match Group "should be glad that Apple is not taking all of Match's revenue."
Tile's Kirsten Daru went after Apple's Find My network and the recently announced AirTags. She characterized those systems as an attempt for Apple to "enter the market" and "take it over." Daru also cited the "magic onboarding flow" of first-party Apple accessories as evidence of the company's anticompetitive behavior.
Kyle Andeer, Apple's chief compliance officer, also testified at the hearing. For his part, he said that the App Store revolutionized software distribution.
He also reiterated Apple's position that app Store commissions are much lower than historical rates for software distribution, and that its tight controls are aimed at ensuring quality, security, and privacy for users.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chair of the antitrust subcommittee, likened Apple and Google to gatekeepers who have the power to decide whether third-party apps can actually be distributed to iPhone or Android users. She says that becomes a problem when Apple and Google also make competing software products.
"Capitalism is about competition. It's about new products coming on. It's about new competitors emerging. This situation, to me, doesn't seem like that's happening when you have two companies really each dominating in different areas," Klobuchar said.
This isn't the first time Apple has been in the spotlight for antitrust concerns. Apple CEO Tim Cook testified before a U.S. House antitrust committee in 2020 as part of a broader investigation into technology companies. That investigation concluded that Apple and other tech giants enjoy monopoly power over their respective markets.
Credit: WikiMedia Commons
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights held a hearing focused on app marketplaces like the App Store and Google Play Wednesday. It called witnesses from several companies that have accused Apple of abusing its market power.
"Apple abuses its dominant position as a gatekeeper of the App Store to insulate itself from competition and disadvantage rival services like Spotify," said Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify's chief legal officer.
Gutierrez went on to say that third-party developers are what make the iPhone successful, adding that Apple has a long history of "using App Store policies to handicap Spotify and benefit Apple Music."
Match legal representative Jared Sine recounted a story of how Apple allegedly rejected an app update to Tinder that contained features aimed at boosting user safety.
When Sine contacted an Apple executive, the executive "disagreed with our assessment of how to run our business and keep our users safe." Sine added that the person told him that Match Group "should be glad that Apple is not taking all of Match's revenue."
Tile's Kirsten Daru went after Apple's Find My network and the recently announced AirTags. She characterized those systems as an attempt for Apple to "enter the market" and "take it over." Daru also cited the "magic onboarding flow" of first-party Apple accessories as evidence of the company's anticompetitive behavior.
Kyle Andeer, Apple's chief compliance officer, also testified at the hearing. For his part, he said that the App Store revolutionized software distribution.
He also reiterated Apple's position that app Store commissions are much lower than historical rates for software distribution, and that its tight controls are aimed at ensuring quality, security, and privacy for users.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chair of the antitrust subcommittee, likened Apple and Google to gatekeepers who have the power to decide whether third-party apps can actually be distributed to iPhone or Android users. She says that becomes a problem when Apple and Google also make competing software products.
"Capitalism is about competition. It's about new products coming on. It's about new competitors emerging. This situation, to me, doesn't seem like that's happening when you have two companies really each dominating in different areas," Klobuchar said.
This isn't the first time Apple has been in the spotlight for antitrust concerns. Apple CEO Tim Cook testified before a U.S. House antitrust committee in 2020 as part of a broader investigation into technology companies. That investigation concluded that Apple and other tech giants enjoy monopoly power over their respective markets.
Comments
Tinder is complaining about privacy but conveniently left out Android.
Why is Tile bit**ing? Apple’s Find My network is wide open for them.
If you don't like Apple's practices, don't be a part of the "problem" and just leave their platform...!
Except for Apple.
The Find My network only exists because of the unique position Apple is in as the creator of the hardware and software, this sort of network can't be created by third parties. Consumers shouldn't be denied innovative technologies like this just because third-parties don't like that their being put out of business. They should have already identified they were vulnerable and either developed a competing product, diversified or pivoted to something else. One company shouldn't be able to stop another company from innovating because it hurts their business.
Well that's only because Apple is yet again being anticompetitive, because they have a monopoly over the iOS user interface and can take advantage of their UI designers.
Tinder: not sure how Apple are anti-competitive since Apple do not offer /operate a rival dating service. The Tinder app is allowed on the app store, so where is Apple's anti-competitive behaviour to them.
Spotify: Apple does very much compete in Spotify's space. Clearly direct competitors. Spotify are allowed to have their app on the Apple app store. So no blocking their access to the platform. What about pricing? This could be an area of complaint if Apple sold its music service at below cost in order to undercut Spotify (and other competitors) in order to drive them out of business. Apple has the $$$ to pursue this approach. This is a pricing comparison I found from a 2020 CNET article. Clearly no undercutting by Apple with pricing pretty similar to Spotify.
Tile: Apple have allowed Tile access to their Find My app. Now Apple have released their own tracking tile product and the pricing for them are:
Air Tag: 1x = $29; 4x = $99
Tile Mate: 1x = $24; 4x = $69 , Tile Pro: 1x = $34.99; 4x = $99.99
So what's the issue here. There is no undercutting in price. Surely anyone is allowed to do business in any space they choose to - if done within the law.
If Apple is behaving inappropriately then that should be called out and dealt with. But the charge has to be correct and not just based on businesses not being happy they have competition and/or are having to abide by someone's else's rules (and pay for it). Apple should be allowed to run its App store as it wants to (within the law) if it wants to maintain certain standards of quality and control. And yes, to make money from it as well.
I must have missed the part about Apple announcing that AirTag will be available on Android or a PC , thus also be competing with Tile in those "markets". Until then, Tile don't have to worry about Apple taking over the "market", just maybe less than 20% of it. Unless she thinks that the whole "market" of consumers that uses products like Tile and AirTags, consist only of consumers that uses iDevices (and Macs). Until this Kirsten Daru know the "market" that Tile is in, she needs to shut up or else she might say something really stupid like ........ Apple is being anti-competitive because they have a "monopoly" in the iOS "market".
Capitalism and competition are NOT the same same. The goal of capitalism is profit maximization. That goal is ultimately incompatible with competition. Profit maximization, unbridled, has the ultimate goal of destroying all current and future competition, to forever protect its monopoly at all costs.
Equal access competition a.k.a. truly free markets are the true drivers of innovation and prosperity. Capitalism is simultaneously the best tool to maximize productivity, and simultaneously the greatest threat to the same, when left unmanaged.
Free markets and competition are good for everyone, except for greed maxing capitalists. Any capitalist that has amassed enough power or wealth to bully competition, no longer sees competition and free markets as beneficial. They see competition and free markets as a threat to their dominance.
Now we are back to a few big corporations controlling almost everything, especially in technology. I'm always amazed at how easy it is to train the vast majority of people to act against their own self interest. That's the most effective and insidious form of power there is. That is the sort of control that the system has against everyone here cheering on Apple, Google, and the like, while denigrating the others. it's just like the first line of the chorus of the song "Banditos" by "The Refreshments". Everybody knows the world is full of "them".