The Australian government is looking into how Apple and Google distribute apps to users of their platforms. The discussion paper, released late last year, follows. the European Commissions recent review of digital platforms. The Australian government is asking “Why do we need a new competition regime for digital platforms?” The paper says:
… the rise and dominance of large international platforms, their market power and ability to restrict competition, and their central role in facilitating interactions between businesses and consumers, have also created important regulatory challenges.
The European Commission has forced Apple to allow alternate app stores and enable the side loading of applications.
Apple responded to the discussion paper that was released saying:
Insofar as Apple’s products and services are concerned, there is no objective credible evidence that there is a relevant market failure arising from Apple’s purported market power which requires a regulatory response directed specifically at Apple by designating Apple as a digital platform to which ex ante regulation should apply simply on the basis of the popularity of its products.
Apple also noted that over 80% of the apps distributed and sold through the App Store bring it no revenue and noted that “those reforms are directed at addressing hypothetical (rather than existing) problems insofar as conduct attributable to Apple is concerned.”
There is a significant regulatory issue here. Users do have a choice when it comes to mobile platforms. There is iOS which operates as a relatively closed system where only ‘verified’ apps can be downloaded (of which there are literally millions to choose from at a broad range of price points). And there’s Android which is far more open as it allows side-loading and where millions of applications are available through the Play Store.
A report at The Guardian quotes Apple as saying “government should not use the EU’s Digital Markets as “a blueprint” for the scheme.”
Where will this all lead? No-one is really sure. The Australian government seems to be playing a game of digital whack-a-mole at the moment with its moves on age verification proposals for teens accessing social media, tweaking competition law for digital platforms and content regulation on social media platforms.
As far as these moves to regulate how digital platforms like Apple operate, the rules it sets now will have far broader consequences. While Apple’s App Store may garner headlines, there are hundreds of similar online marketplaces operated by software vendors. Google, Atlassian, Microsoft and hundreds of others operate app markets for their respective platforms. And new rules that are set for Apple will, one assumes, apply equally to all of these platforms.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.