Proton Joins Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple's App Store Practices (theregister.com) 10
Encrypted communications provider Proton has joined an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, filing a legal complaint that claims the company's App Store practices harm developers, consumers, and privacy. The Switzerland-based firm joined a group of Korean developers who sued Apple in May rather than filing a separate case.
Proton asked the US District Court for Northern California to require Apple to allow alternative app stores, expose those stores through its own App Store, permit developers to disable Apple's in-app payment system, and provide full access to Apple APIs. The company added a privacy-focused argument to typical antitrust complaints, contending that Apple's pricing model particularly penalizes companies that refuse to harvest user data. Developers of free apps typically sell user data to cover costs, while privacy-focused companies like Proton must charge subscriptions for revenue, making Apple's commission cuts more burdensome.
Proton asked the US District Court for Northern California to require Apple to allow alternative app stores, expose those stores through its own App Store, permit developers to disable Apple's in-app payment system, and provide full access to Apple APIs. The company added a privacy-focused argument to typical antitrust complaints, contending that Apple's pricing model particularly penalizes companies that refuse to harvest user data. Developers of free apps typically sell user data to cover costs, while privacy-focused companies like Proton must charge subscriptions for revenue, making Apple's commission cuts more burdensome.
Hypocrites (Score:1)
They want to allow "choice" to use THEIR payment system, but also the ability to DISABLE Apple's payment system, thereby disabling the same choice for consumers who want to use it.
Fucking hypocrites!
exactly (Score:1)
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Plus, all your shit is in one place, instead of random payment systems spread throughout the universe.
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The fact that there are benefits to Apple's monopoly, isn't the point. The point is that app developers have no choice, if they want to sell an app or services within an app, they must do it through Apple and Google, an effective duopoly.
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They want to allow "choice" to use THEIR payment system, but also the ability to DISABLE Apple's payment system, thereby disabling the same choice for consumers who want to use it.
Fucking hypocrites!
I think that perhaps Proton doesn't really care about - FTA - "allowing developers to disable Apple's in-app payment system and to gain full access to Apple APIs". I suspect it may be a negotiating tactic: ask for more than you really want so there's something to concede at the appropriate time.
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Unlike Apple, Proton isn't a monopoly. When you dominate a market, the rules of ethics and legality change. If you're a small company, you are free to require your customers to sign exclusive deals with you, in order to do business with them. It's legally and ethically OK because customers have somewhere else to go. But if you dominate a market, it's no longer OK to require customers to strike such deals, because they have nowhere else to turn. This is literally the core of antitrust law.
So no, it's not hyp
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Unlike Apple, Proton isn't a monopoly. When you dominate a market, the rules of ethics and legality change. If you're a small company, you are free to require your customers to sign exclusive deals with you, in order to do business with them. It's legally and ethically OK because customers have somewhere else to go. But if you dominate a market, it's no longer OK to require customers to strike such deals, because they have nowhere else to turn. This is literally the core of antitrust law.
So no, it's not hypocritical, even if your contention is true.
But Apple doesn't dominate the smartphone market!
Alleging that Apple Dominating the "iPhone Market" constitutes "monopolistic behavior" is ridiculous on its face.
But that is what is happening here.
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While Apple does in fact own 60% of the smartphone market in the US, that's beside the point.
We're not talking about the smartphone market.
The market in question, is the smartphone *app* marketplace. If you are an app developer, and you want to reach customers, you cannot sidestep Apple, you *must* do business with Apple. If you choose not to do business with Apple, you forfeit access to 60% of the smartphone marketplace. This is why antitrust law applies.
Class Action (Score:5, Funny)
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