We often say that there is no such thing as a “tech industry” because, in our experience, app and connected device companies are solving problems in virtually every industry. Some are better positioning bars and restaurants to weather the global pandemic; others are revolutionizing agriculture by monitoring cattle and preserving [...]
S. 2710 seeks to undo the current management structure for mobile app stores. The provisions track some of the complaints from the largest companies selling digital-only goods and services on the app stores, which have an ultimate purpose of forcing app stores to distribute their products for free. As a [...]
S. 2992 seeks to undo the current management structures of large, privately managed marketplaces, including software platforms (app store / operating system combinations). The provisions seek to limit actions large platforms take that would advantage their own offerings or disadvantage other offerings. The central provisions of S. 2992 require open [...]
Antitrust reform advocates argue strenuously that consumers will not lose privacy or security benefits if Congress prohibits mobile software platforms from being able to remove malware and other bad actors from app stores. The bills they are pushing, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) and the Open [...]
It’s often said that privacy means different things to different people. But increasingly, policymakers, courts—and most importantly, consumers—are seeing privacy, in its shifting forms, as a tangible benefit with real value. For example, mobile software platforms (app store / operating system combinations) recently introduced additional controls for smartphone owners, enabling [...]