House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Tim Cook to let antitrust bills play out

Posted:
in General Discussion edited June 2021
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that she spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about a recent slate of antitrust bills, adding that she told him to let the process play out.

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP


On Thursday, the House Speaker detailed her conversation with Cook, but maintained her stance that American privacy and data are at the ends of giant technology companies. Pelosi said she told Cook to let the legislative process continue, CNBC reported.

"If you have substantive concerns -- and they have members who have voted with them on this -- they can put forth what they want to put forth," said House Speaker Pelosi. "But we are not going to ignore the consolidation that has happened and the concern that exists on both sides of the aisle."

House Speaker Pelosi added that the primary concerns of lawmakers are consumers and competition. While technology is an asset to the U.S., the speaker said she's concerned about fairness, privacy, and data exploitation.

Just a day earlier, reports indicated that Cook had personally called Pelosi and other lawmakers in an attempt to sway opinion against a recent slate of antitrust bills that could have major changes on the technology industry.

Cook reportedly said that the bills were rushed and would stifle innovation and hurt consumers.

The antitrust package was introduced in the U.S. House earlier in June. There are a total of five bills that could have significant ramifications for Apple and other technology giants, including new restrictions on the preinstallation of first-party iOS apps.

Along with Apple, other groups have voiced their opposition to the bills. On Tuesday, a group of think tanks and nonprofits -- some of which are backed by Apple -- penned a letter to the House Judiciary Committee urging lawmakers to reject the bills.

The House Judiciary Committee is currently reviewing the legislation. On Wednesday, it approved a bill that could increase the budgets of the top antitrust enforcement agencies in the U.S. That approval means the bill will now go before the full U.S. House of Representatives for a vote.

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,251member
    House Speaker Pelosi added that the primary concerns of lawmakers are consumers and competition. -- Sorry but when have lawmakers actually been concerned about consumers over corporations. My concerns are usability and privacy, not competition. I quit buying crappy tools when they only lasted a few times. Competition doesn't mean the lowest price is always better. I want to pay for what I see as the best product that works for me. I choose to do this and what the government is doing is forcing a fantastic company to allow crap to run on their products. That isn't what I want so stop trying to tell me what is good for me when you aren't technically qualified to make those decisions.
    baconstanglkruppwilliamlondontmaymwhitepichaelyojimbo007pscooter63jas99stompy
  • Reply 2 of 18
    thebuddathebudda Posts: 28member
    Just trust us, the government is here to help. The scariest thing you could ever hear. I wouldn't trust Nancy Pelosi to tell me the sky was blue.
    pichaelyojimbo007[Deleted User]
  • Reply 3 of 18
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    thebudda said:
    Just trust us, the government is here to help. The scariest thing you could ever hear. I wouldn't trust Nancy Pelosi to tell me the sky was blue.
    That’s a paraphrase of the great communicator, Ronald Reagan. 

    "The nine most terrifying words in the English launguage are, "I"m from the Government and I'm here to help.” August 12, 1986 press conference.
    edited June 2021 pichaelyojimbo007Japhey[Deleted User]
  • Reply 4 of 18
    gbeckgbeck Posts: 1member
    Apple Love the Democrats so now deal with this bills as Pelosi turn her back to Apple
    yojimbo007[Deleted User]
  • Reply 5 of 18
    yojimbo007yojimbo007 Posts: 1,165member
    gbeck said:
    Apple Love the Democrats so now deal with this bills as Pelosi turn her back to Apple
    The Irony!
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 6 of 18
    KTRKTR Posts: 280member
    U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that she spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about a recent slate of antitrust bills, adding that she told him to let the process play out.

    Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP


    On Thursday, the House Speaker detailed her conversation with Cook, but maintained her stance that American privacy and data are at the ends of giant technology companies. Pelosi said she told Cook to let the legislative process continue, CNBC reported.

    "If you have substantive concerns -- and they have members who have voted with them on this -- they can put forth what they want to put forth," said House Speaker Pelosi. "But we are not going to ignore the consolidation that has happened and the concern that exists on both sides of the aisle."

    House Speaker Pelosi added that the primary concerns of lawmakers are consumers and competition. While technology is an asset to the U.S., the speaker said she's concerned about fairness, privacy, and data exploitation.

    Just a day earlier, reports indicated that Cook had personally called Pelosi and other lawmakers in an attempt to sway opinion against a recent slate of antitrust bills that could have major changes on the technology industry.

    Cook reportedly said that the bills were rushed and would stifle innovation and hurt consumers.

    The antitrust package was introduced in the U.S. House earlier in June. There are a total of five bills that could have significant ramifications for Apple and other technology giants, including new restrictions on the preinstallation of first-party iOS apps.

    Along with Apple, other groups have voiced their opposition to the bills. On Tuesday, a group of think tanks and nonprofits -- some of which are backed by Apple -- penned a letter to the House Judiciary Committee urging lawmakers to reject the bills.

    The House Judiciary Committee is currently reviewing the legislation. On Wednesday, it approved a bill that could increase the budgets of the top antitrust enforcement agencies in the U.S. That approval means the bill will now go before the full U.S. House of Representatives for a vote.

    Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
    I hope these bills back fire on the government. 
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 7 of 18
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Typical spinelsss democrat response. 
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 8 of 18
    MicDorseyMicDorsey Posts: 100member
    "Let the process play out." Translation: "Don't confuse me with the facts."
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 9 of 18
    iadlibiadlib Posts: 95member
    Let the process play out like the last administration? Seriously? Politicians and religion. Dumb. 
  • Reply 10 of 18
    mariowincomariowinco Posts: 112member
    On allowing apps to bypass Apple Store: probably you will be able to choose a setting that allows just to download from Apple. Then is curated, secure and etc. 
    on privacy: what control do consumers have about our data? Our data is exploited by apple, msft, fb, goog and also the governments.
    on putting a brake anticompetitive behavior: not sure it will benefit always consumers, but the government should intervene in the area
    And on increasing budget for federal offices to be able to fight legal battles: no comment necessary 

    long aapl, long fb
  • Reply 11 of 18
    KuyangkohKuyangkoh Posts: 838member
    gbeck said:
    Apple Love the Democrats so now deal with this bills as Pelosi turn her back to Apple
    The Irony!
    More election contributions from Apple employees….hahahaha, deal with it and quit whinning….
  • Reply 12 of 18
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    lkrupp said:
    thebudda said:
    Just trust us, the government is here to help. The scariest thing you could ever hear. I wouldn't trust Nancy Pelosi to tell me the sky was blue.
    That’s a paraphrase of the great communicator, Ronald Reagan. 

    "The nine most terrifying words in the English launguage are, "I"m from the Government and I'm here to help.” August 12, 1986 press conference.
    While he arranged to allow the rich who supported him to gut the county for the next 40 years. Well communicated. Think about it. He said the government that we elect and if we are smart make sure they have our best interest at heart by voting can’t be trusted. 

    Instead we should trust the Rich 1% to make us better and use all the money from tax cuts they didn’t deserve to create great jobs with his trickle down economy. It has yet to work. 
    edited June 2021 Alex_VforegoneconclusionrobabaDogperson
  • Reply 13 of 18
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    On allowing apps to bypass Apple Store: probably you will be able to choose a setting that allows just to download from Apple. Then is curated, secure and etc. 
    on privacy: what control do consumers have about our data? Our data is exploited by apple, msft, fb, goog and also the governments.
    on putting a brake anticompetitive behavior: not sure it will benefit always consumers, but the government should intervene in the area
    And on increasing budget for federal offices to be able to fight legal battles: no comment necessary 

    long aapl, long fb
    So, if Apple is allowing an outside store. Who is paying to develop and maintain the platform going forward? What incentive does Apple a for profit business have to invest heavily so 3rd parties can use their work for free?  

    Apple is making it increasingly clear they do not exploit data and is making others be transparent as well. I’m not sure why people are still claiming otherwise unless they don’t own Apple devices. 

    How can a company be anti competitive when giving millions of developers opportunities that did not exist before the App Store. Partnering with them to allow access to APIs meant for internal use. They don’t have to offer an App Platform they do it to add value and their model has allowed significant reinvestment into it. 

    When any product becomes unprofitable it is canceled. As it should be in business. 
    The only option whorls be to have two models One for the US with hobbled phones and one for the rest of the world. 
  • Reply 14 of 18
    temperortemperor Posts: 66member
    Granted they should protect users, but last time a checked, Apple has a 20% market share world wide and around 50% in the US so far from a monopoly. (Pleas spare us the AppStore “supposed monopoly” ). As a consumer I’m more concerned about security and privacy, that is the reason I choose Apple. So dear politicians if you really mean that protecting the user is at hart, do nothing that will hurt Security amd Privacy and go after real monopolies aka 80% plus market share …
    Alex_VDogperson
  • Reply 15 of 18
    lkrupp said: That’s a paraphrase of the great communicator, Ronald Reagan. 

    "The nine most terrifying words in the English launguage are, "I"m from the Government and I'm here to help.” August 12, 1986 press conference.
    And yet Reagan invented the modern bloated Pentagon budget and constantly promoted national defense and a global projection of military power...which is done by government employees. 
    fastasleeprobaba
  • Reply 16 of 18
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,095member
    lkrupp said: That’s a paraphrase of the great communicator, Ronald Reagan. 

    "The nine most terrifying words in the English launguage are, "I"m from the Government and I'm here to help.” August 12, 1986 press conference.
    And yet Reagan invented the modern bloated Pentagon budget and constantly promoted national defense and a global projection of military power...which is done by government employees. 
    You know, this rhetoric gets old.  There's plenty of blame for both.  Last time I checked, America's debt has continued to rise regardless of who's in the White House.

    Ronald Reagan's last year in office was 1989.  That's over three decades ago.  How many presidents, both Republican and Democrat have been in office since then to repair what you're pinpointing at?  You and others like you make it sound like once a president makes a decision, it's forever?  Give us a break.

    Go find another excuse.
    muthuk_vanalingamkurai_kage
  • Reply 17 of 18
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,759member
    genovelle said:
    On allowing apps to bypass Apple Store: probably you will be able to choose a setting that allows just to download from Apple. Then is curated, secure and etc. 
    on privacy: what control do consumers have about our data? Our data is exploited by apple, msft, fb, goog and also the governments.
    on putting a brake anticompetitive behavior: not sure it will benefit always consumers, but the government should intervene in the area
    And on increasing budget for federal offices to be able to fight legal battles: no comment necessary 

    long aapl, long fb
    So, if Apple is allowing an outside store. Who is paying to develop and maintain the platform going forward? What incentive does Apple a for profit business have to invest heavily so 3rd parties can use their work for free?  
    Who is paying to develop and maintain macOS, since the Mac App Store is essentially dead?
  • Reply 18 of 18
    kurai_kagekurai_kage Posts: 105member
    elijahg said:
    Who is paying to develop and maintain macOS, since the Mac App Store is essentially dead?
    Mac App Store has had stead growth for years, both in number of app as well as users, so I don't know what you are talking about.  Your comment makes me think you may not have heard of this new thing, Apple Silicon.  Apple customers that own these new systems, have access to something like 1 million, previously iOS exclusive, apps, in addition to all of the existing native macOS apps.  While some of these apps aren't as seamless an experience as a native macOS app, it is obvious where things are headed.  
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