Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar
teamed up with Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn to sponsor the bill, which
would bar big app stores from requiring app providers to use their payment
system. It would also prohibit them from punishing apps that offer different
prices or conditions through another app store or payment system.
"I found this predatory abuse of Apple and Google so
deeply offensive on so many levels," Blumenthal said in an interview
Wednesday. "Their power has reached a point where they are impacting the
whole economy in stifling and strangling innovation."
Blumenthal said he expected companion legislation in the
House of Representatives "very soon."
The stakes are high for Apple, whose App Store anchors its
$53.8 billion services business as the smartphone market has matured.
Apple said its app store was "an unprecedented engine
of economic growth and innovation, one that now supports more than 2.1 million
jobs across all 50 states."
Google declined to comment, but a spokeswoman cited previous
company statements that Android devices often come preloaded with two or more
app stores and that app sellers can allow downloads without using Google's Play
Store.
The bill won praise from Spotify, Epic, and Tile. Tile,
which makes tags to find lost objects, complained earlier this year about Apple
launching a rival product.
A similar law revision has been introduced in South Korea.
Google said last year it would enforce certain in-app payment methods there and
receive 30 percent commission fees from non-game digital content.
Apple's control over apps on its Store, and 15 percent to 30
percent commissions on digital sales have come under regulatory scrutiny. A
federal judge is reviewing testimony to rule on an antitrust lawsuit by
Fortnite creator Epic Games.
Epic also sued Google for its app store practices, as have a
big group of state attorneys general alleging that it unlawfully worked to
maintain a monopoly for its app store for Android phones.
© Reuters
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