From FOSS Patents’ “Apple may already have lost the strategic battle over antitrust market definition in multiple European jurisdictions” posted Sunday:
Never before has there been so much hope that the mobile app store tyranny may come to an end. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. There’ll be appeals, and the freedom fighters of the Digital Era may experience setbacks. But the first week of March 2021 may very well be judged by history as the end of the beginning.
I’ve previously commented on the app store bill adopted by the Arizona House of Representatives. This is just the first legislative hurdle of three, and there may be court challenges even if the state senate voted in favor and the governor signed. But it shows that the app store liberation movement is able to build political majorities and overcome Apple and Google’s counterlobbying. Initiatives are underway in multiple states, and it varies by state whether Democrats or (as in Arizona) Republicans take the lead.
On the other side of the Big Pond, Apple’s purely pretextual defenses of its app store monopoly are falling apart. There were not one, not two, but three news cycles this week, two of which are bad news for Apple and the third is more likely than not to portend another decision against Apple.
My take: Mueller, whose spirited defense of free and open-source software (FOSS) standards I covered extensively during the Apple-Android and Apple-Samsung patent wars, has certainly has dialed up his rhetoric!
See also: What’s eating Florian Mueller?
We’ve had other laws that were thought good and later taken off th4e books. Prohibition comes to mind
These statements, available to everyone, identify all the susceptibilities and even outline Apple’s defense in any court. The App Store will stand up to legal scrutiny, but Apple will also continue to make meaningful adjustments. In their words,
“The Company’s minority market share in the global smartphone, personal computer and tablet markets could make developers less inclined to develop or upgrade software for the Company’s products…” yea, right.
I would gladly pay twice as much for an Apple curated App, and wouldn’t pay any price, no matter how much lower, for one that isn’t properly curated. The value added by Apple’s curation and protection of its users’ privacy and security is real. I don’t need a million Apps, just a few good, properly curated ones that aren’t siphoning off data, and am perfectly happy with Apple just dealing with App developers as a reseller.
I do fear that the end result of this fight might be that a lot of worthy developers fail because of a larger, greedier, few – IMHO.
Meanwhile, the market, driven by the reduced ranks of short term profiteers, is taking the price down today, as this money-grubbng attack is given notoriety by the likes of Mr. Mueller and his fellow open-source termites. All that does is give Apple and the increasing ranks of long term investors more bang per buying buck.
Thank you for the gift, folks!
So when does size then morph into “tyrannical” control? When it gets accused and labeled as such — even though there are other choices for the consumer.
I guess you know when your at the top of the heap when your usefulness reaches an all-encompassing “need” in people’s lives where most “depend” upon you and you essentially get mob-dragged into being a controlled “utility” like water and power.
Bravo Apple. You put the juice into that ol’ saw, “No good deed goes unpunished”.
A year ago, we saw another “deep selloff” like this that was quickly followed by a “deep buy-in” that eventually increased the price of AAPL well over 100% from the depths of the V shape thus described.
Just sayin’….
All this will do is enhance the pockets of a few while making the app store – and thus our phones – insecure.
Look at all the high-profile security breaches we’ve seen already this year. Solar Winds, Exchange.
This is shaping up to be a future disaster.
“This is shaping up to be a future disaster.”
Are you a long term investor? If so, relax. All is well on the Good Ship Apple.
I am, and have been long for a loooong time, with no thought of leaving.
Long term investment is actually rewarded by our tax code, presumably for very good reasons like this. Those politicians who are presently bent on attacking Apple for its buybacks have apparently forgotten that….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florian_M%C3%BCller_(author)?wprov=sfti1
Disgruntled app developer?