Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook listens as US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a meeting with members of his national security team and private sector leaders to discuss how to “improve the nation’s cybersecurity,” in the East Room, White House in Washington, August 25, 2021.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Apple Warning in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday that antitrust bills under consideration in the Senate would increase the risk of a security breach for iPhone users, in part because they can force it to allow downloads, where apps are downloaded outside of the App Store.
Apple’s objections reflect growing concern from the iPhone maker about the American Choice and Innovation Online Act and the Open Applications Market Act, both of which are scheduled to be reviewed this week. this.
“The bills put consumers at risk because of the real risk of privacy and security breaches,” Apple’s senior director of government affairs, Timothy Powderly, wrote in a letter to the Commission. Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed by CNBC.
Apple has drawn consistent scrutiny from regulators over the past few years for its control of the App Store, which is the only way to install software on iPhones. Apple takes a 15% to 30% cut on digital purchases made through iPhone apps.
America’s Online Choice and Innovation Act, by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. And Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa suggested, will ban dominant platforms from prioritizing their products over competitors.
That could have important implications for companies like Apple and Google, which host rival apps on their app stores alongside Amazon, which sells private-label products. in its marketplace with third-party brands.
The Open Application Market Act, by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. And Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., put forward, similarly will prevent dominant platforms from liking their own products, but with a special focus on app stores.
The bill would prevent companies with dominant app stores, like Apple and Google, for example, from app delivery to whether developers use the platform’s in-app billing system.
Apple argues that its rules are necessary for security
Apple has always argued that its control over the App Store is essential to providing a secure and private experience for customers. Otherwise, it argued, users could install malware and other malicious software. Android phones allow users to sideload apps, although users must agree to some warning pop-ups in the software to do so.
In the letter on Tuesday, Apple warned that allowing users to download apps, as the bills allow, would be a “major loss to consumers” and said it would allow developers to App developers bypass Apple’s privacy policies and open the door to attacks from scammers.
“But, if Apple were forced to enable sideloading, millions of Americans could suffer malware attacks on their phones that would otherwise be stopped,” Powderly wrote in Letters.
Apple argued that the bills would give the company the ability to defend its rules, arguing that they “increase consumer welfare.”
Both bills are plan will be flagged by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, where they can be amended and potentially voted to go public. However, even if they are elected off the committee, the Senate leadership will have to give them time to get a vote, amid a mountain of other pressing issues.
Tech-funded groups have been pushing hard on the Klobuchar-led bill in particular, with the Chamber of Progress at the center alert consumers it will block Amazon from offering free shipping on select products through the Prime subscription service. Klobuchar’s office has speak that is simply not true. Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta are among the supporters of the Progressive Room.
Again powered by technology The group, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, urged lawmakers to postpone the hearing before the original date last week, with competition policy director Aurelien Portuese saying in a statement that “this bill creates creates unfair competition and harms consumers by limiting online platforms’ capacity to innovate and, as a result, provide consumers with better and more competitively priced products. “
