Apple and Google bosses have personally lobbied US senators against the American Innovation and Choice Online Act antitrust bill.
Apple and Google know they are risking a lot. In the United States, a new antitrust bill could very quickly be adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and undermine the hegemony of the web giants. After retaliating with open letters, the GAFAMs are getting down to business. According to a report from Punchbowl News who quotes “several assistants to senators”, Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) and Sundar Pichai (CEO of Alphabet) are both reportedly “called and met senators” to convince them personally to oppose the bill.
GAFAM refuse the Innovation and Choice Online Act
Among the texts that make Apple and Google tremble, we will particularly mention theAmerican Innovation and Choice Online Act, which was to be considered this week by the Senate Committee, before being submitted to the votes of the House of Representatives and the Senate. If adopted, this legislation could indeed cost the web giants dearly, in particular in terms of their prohibiting advantage of their own services and products compared to those offered by the competition. Reserved for the biggest companies like Google, Apple, Meta or Amazon, the legislation has already won the support of many third-party developers, who believe that it can (perhaps) restore some semblance of fairness to the market.
If the GAFAM are also worried, it is primarily because this court decision could force them to open their download platforms. A situation that does not really delight Apple. In addition to castigating sideloading (which consists of downloading software outside of official app stores), Apple also fears that this forced opening will definitely force it to say goodbye to the heavy commission, by authorizing third-party payment platforms. Remember that several steps are underway in this direction: in the Netherlands, dating apps can now bypass App Store platforms for in-app payments.
