Apple and Google CEOs push antitrust bill

Big tech executives are increasingly apprehensive about the anti-rusting bills being passed in the U.S. Senate. Google and Apple have called into action their CEOs, Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook, to try to persuade senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a bill that requires both companies not to favor their own services within their ecosystems.

Antitrust Law Threatens Meta, Apple, Google and Microsoft
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is a law with bipartisan support. Who leads the effort to pass the proposal is Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar alongside Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. In election year in the U.S. Congress, barring the advance of big techs can yield exposure and votes, something that many politicians are eager to have. That is, there is a good chance that the proposal will be approved.

To get approval in the Senate Legal Committee, votes from members of Congress and the Senate are needed, but it already worries big tech companies, and it’s easy to see why.

The antitrust law encompasses companies with a market value of more than $550 billion and with an active monthly user base of over 50 million, or more than 100,000 Corporate customers. That is, Microsoft, Meta (owner of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook), Amazon, Google and Apple would be barred from favoring their own products in search results, limiting competitors’ access to data from their platforms, and ultimately using non-public consumer information to gain advantages —Amazon and Google are accused of the latter practice.

For Apple, the proposal may cause changes to the App Store. The company claims that if passed, the law would require it to allow side-loading — downloading programs from third-party sources — of apps on the iPhone and iPad.

The company sent a letter yesterday to Congress claiming that it would threaten the safety and privacy of customers by allowing apps to enter unsupervised. The 30% fee paid by developers to Apple in downloading and purchasing each app is also in play.

Google claimed in a post that the antitrust law threatens the quality of the company’s programs. If the company could not favor its own services, users would have to turn to competitors who simply offer inferior software.

Congressman slams Apple and cites “despair”
In response to Apple’s arguments, a spokesperson for Amy Klobuchar told Bloomberg:

“The law does not force Apple to eliminate enforcement of apps on devices such as the iPhone. All of the company’s arguments about “side-loading” are a desperate attempt to preserve the Monopoly of the App Store, used to charge competitors fees.”

If the antitrust proposal is approved, it could cause CEOs and executives at companies such as Apple and Google to pay fines on their annual salaries in cases of recidivism. This is a punishment that could be applied by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Despite facing opposition from big techs, the law received support from 35 smaller companies, who joined a coalition. Among them are DuckDuckGo, google’s competitor, and Patreon.

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, they argue that the proposal is necessary to curb “the various anticompetitive tactics and own benefits that dominant technology companies use to maintain their status as ‘guardians’ of the industry.”

It’s not the first time big tech CEOs have come into action to lobby against passing laws in the U.S. Congress. Last year, Tim Cook called the Leader of the Democrats in parliament, Nancy Pelosi, to warn of the dangers of “rushed” laws. Apple’s chief executive was referring to five antitrust proposals discussed at the time.