Tokyo tightens grip on tech giants: Anti-monopoly law targets Apple, other app stores

Japan is flexing its regulatory muscles, drafting an anti-monopoly law aimed at reining in the domineering app store policies of Apple and Alphabet. This move follows similar actions by the U.S. against Google’s Play Store and EU fines against Apple for App Store restrictions.
The planned law, expected to be submitted next year, could result in hefty fines of up to 6% of revenue for violations, according to the Nikkei daily.
Its reach extends beyond app stores, targeting anti-competitive practices in search, browsers, and operating systems. This paves the way for greater competition, potentially allowing Japanese game companies to run their own smartphone game stores and giving fintechs a chance to challenge Apple and Google’s dominance in mobile payments.
Japan’s move signifies a growing global chorus challenging the monopolistic grip of tech giants on app ecosystems. This legislative effort could reshape the digital landscape in Japan, offering greater choice and potentially lower prices for consumers.
MacDailyNews Take: Again:
It’s Apple’s App Store. Of course they have a right to charge commissions.
Apple’s App Store isn’t a charity and it’s not free to operate. – MacDailyNews, November 14, 2022
How much did it cost developers to have their apps burned onto CDs, boxed, shipped, displayed on store shelves prior to Apple remaking the world for the better for umpteenth time? Apple incurs costs to store, review, organize, surface, and distribute apps to over one billion users. — MacDailyNews, June 10, 2022
That said, as we wrote last year:
Those who want safety, security, and privacy will stick to Apple’s App Store, but a single point of control is always a danger, especially when it comes to capricious censorship (see: pre-Musk Twitter, Apple’s App Store in China, etc.).
iPhone and iPad users must, like Mac users, have the ability to install third-party apps; even if they never do, for it will keep Apple honest. The ability to ban an app loses all power when it’s simply available in another App Store.
These moves, including removing the mandate to use WebKit, Apple’s Safari browsing engine, in third-party browsers, will greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of anti-trust actions against Apple for the foreseeable future.
Also, expect Gatekeeper to come to iOS and iPadOS from macOS.
Yes, Apple’s App Store revenue will take a hit, but there are new products for new markets on deck (AR/VR headsets, AR glasses, Apple Car, etc.) that will more than make up for any loss of App Store exclusivity.
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