In 2004, Firefox launched to take back the web from Microsoft, whose monopoly gave its web browser an unfair advantage.
— ⌗ChrisMessina (@chrismessina) April 30, 2021
Today the @EU_Commission asserted that it believes Apple's control over gives @AppleMusic a similar unfair advantage over audio content.
Let the games begin. https://t.co/1uWNPhW9Ot
I think the time has passed for arguing whether the App Store is a monopoly or run anticompetitively — the fun part now is seeing just how Apple evolves it to face that reality. We can love what the App Store provides users & developers yet still need change along other axes
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) April 30, 2021
Good to see Europe charge that Apple's App Store rules are anticompetitive. Along with the Epic/Fortnite case, a good outcome would be requiring Apple to allow competing payment gateways https://t.co/Su39TrRTZd
— Owen Williams ⚡ (@ow) April 30, 2021
Next week’s Fortnite trial could upend Apple’s App Store model — even if Epic loses https://t.co/58ioQ29zuB pic.twitter.com/lgJEpmBS4S
— The Verge (@verge) May 1, 2021
Our preliminary view is that Apple's rules distort competition in the market for music streaming services by raising the costs of competing music streaming app developers.
— European Commission ?? (@EU_Commission) April 30, 2021
More on our statement of objections to Apple → https://t.co/b2yb8ubTVd
Executive Vice-President @vestager pic.twitter.com/Q9wNIbLJZb
it's really minor but it feels worth noting that Spotify does in fact pay $100 a year to be in the App Store, as does every other app developer pic.twitter.com/KByzjaDsE9
— alex hern (@alexhern) April 30, 2021
In case there was any doubt, Apple is explicit that they view iOS apps — not App Store listings, but the app itself — as their property. pic.twitter.com/YZcVwQD4Qp
— Ben Thompson (@benthompson) April 30, 2021
Analysts, and everyone else, have known for years that Apple’s App Store mints money. Now we have an actual number from company documents. Silly to pretend that this somehow doesn't exist just because there's no official P&L for the biz https://t.co/Jzv6upyhO5 via @markgurman
— Alistair Barr (@alistairmbarr) May 1, 2021
I’m glad there’s more to say about where the App Store is going. In fact, I think we’re still in the “more questions than answers” phase. https://t.co/bjBI8uPQmr
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) May 1, 2021
Full Support.@Apple is undermining fair competition for AppStores and music streaming. Consumers and European companies are losing. We need to ensure fair competition & protect consumer rights.#Apple #Spotify https://t.co/e4LECBMchn
— Rasmus Andresen ???️? (@RasmusAndresen) April 30, 2021
Good read on the challenges of scaling ecosystem rules that seem “obvious” at 1mm users and dozens of developers but get very complex at 1bn users and millions of developers https://t.co/zJrWkrEWBq
— Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert) April 30, 2021
(Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Friday that a case brought by European Union antitrust regulators accusing it of setting restrictive rules on its App Store was "the opposite of fair competition".
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) April 30, 2021
@Reuters $AAPL
Agreed. It would be like walking into Home Depot and seeing a sign that says the exact same SKU is cheaper at Lowes…
— Joe Stover (@Joe_Stover) April 30, 2021
However, I do think the app store needs a reckoning for their business practices…
Margins like in the drug trade: #Apple’s App Store had a 78% operating margin in 2019, according to an Epic Games expert witness. https://t.co/P8mF14H2Nd pic.twitter.com/2N6oUISfB7
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) May 1, 2021
Hopefully @vestager and team will have realized that fines alone do worse than nothing, they simply price the monopoly violations. Need a direct decree to allow Spotify and other app makers to use their own billing systems.
— DHH (@dhh) April 30, 2021
For those looking to get caught up on Epic v Apple before Monday, @pierce @BenBrodyDC and I put together this nice big guide with all the important context, the full cast of characters, and the big arguments we expect both sides to make. Gonna be fun. https://t.co/ygJf8NiI2u
— Nick Statt (@nickstatt) April 30, 2021
This is the sort of margin you see when you have a duopoly while most struggle to make 20% and pay 10x more tax and without using child labour. https://t.co/XqsfWJvzuu
— David Tracey (@David_Tracey) May 1, 2021
Woah shit, @benedictevans thinks the EU commission will:
— Ryan Jones (@rjonesy) April 30, 2021
1. Allow 3rd-party payments
2. Reduce Apple’s 30% further
3. Provide equal API access
That’s crazy to imagine… the implications for the app landscape… pic.twitter.com/InyuI3EbKf
Final thought: Apple's response to all of this is 1) app store costs, you gotta buy for up-keep; and 2) we compete w/ @Google, so there's lots of competition. Brussels already slapped down 2nd argument, and this is live footage from inside Google ahead of today's announcement pic.twitter.com/KN1yWc3cJB
— Mark Scott (@markscott82) April 30, 2021
More and more it getting frightening just how much politicians fail to understand technology and apply old style thinking to modern business challenges. All this decision does is ensure the death of platforms and leave us all stuck with two software ecosystems - iOS and Android https://t.co/ZliVUcpZub
— DC (@donal_cahalane) April 30, 2021
And on the eve of its trial with Epic, Apple is hit with a European antitrust complaint regarding App Store fees. Apple’s “significant market power cannot go unchecked,” EU says. Details from @aoifewhite101 @StephanieBodoni https://t.co/XnkchPfHGJ
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 30, 2021
"Apple had said on numerous occasions that it has one profit and loss statement for across the company and doesn’t track individual business units."
— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) May 1, 2021
Doesn't track individual business units. Definitely sounds like Tim Cook amirite. Not a details oriented guy, more of a visionary. https://t.co/9Hux6EWel1
80%. Since, as Apple insists, that there is no separate P&L for the App Store, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to conclude that Apple uses a portion of the same fees it charges developers to directly & unfairly — through both policy & technical means — compete with those developers https://t.co/1GkS0ASvZQ
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) May 1, 2021
Apple’s response on this: “Epic’s experts calculations of the operating margins for the App Store are simply wrong and we look forward to refuting them in court.” https://t.co/xahA7IDrDf
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 1, 2021
https://t.co/l3SUPAR68V this feels like the right approach. Attacking bundling is always going to be hard – is it unfair competition to include a browser with a computer? Or to include the ability to unzip files? – but with non-technical differences in treatment, that's fair.
— alex hern (@alexhern) April 30, 2021
This tweet from 2019 on Apple Music being anticompetitive aged quite well. Will be interesting to see if Apple will be forced to implement any changes to App Store payment structure. Today's EU announcement is just a preliminary conclusion. https://t.co/DbduT05efE pic.twitter.com/8PQbfTG817
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) April 30, 2021
This is wrong.
— Ben Thompson (@benthompson) April 30, 2021
What Apple is banning is *not* copy in the App Store. In this analogy they are banning a product in Home Depot from putting its website on the box or in the instruction manual. https://t.co/0BumWbCvGn
I'd be surprised if the operating margin were this high but...
— Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide) May 1, 2021
The App Store has near zero COGS. Gross margins of software are very high! I assume relatively low costs for app reviewers, servers, etc.
The whole investment thesis in Apple is that services have stellar margins. https://t.co/6D03H7aBal
? There it is. Spotify with first blood against Apple in Europe. https://t.co/N3GTZZQHbJ
— Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) April 30, 2021
I wrote about App Store regulation. We’ve been arguing about app stores for a decade, but now the EU is going to change the rules. Will that actually matter, or is it just a $10bn wealth transfer to a few games companies? https://t.co/xneWke7hTt
— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) April 30, 2021
Apple Inc.’s App Store had operating margins of nearly 78% in fiscal year 2019, according to testimony from an Epic Games Inc. expert witness https://t.co/RLIwTF6ZJD pic.twitter.com/xkwhbAAIEg
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) May 1, 2021
Spotify gets a big antitrust victory against Apple in Europe. Epic’s antitrust case against Apple starts Monday in the US. https://t.co/0LhSYbLHzA
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) April 30, 2021
Here I was thinking that once I obtained an item from a store, that store has no rights to continue to enforce rules and usage of that item post-transaction. ?
— Chris Lacy (@chrismlacy) April 30, 2021
Apple employing such deeply flawed analogies in its official statements says a lot.https://t.co/ZEJOOPndau pic.twitter.com/kv09dhw4fj
Spotify has told the EU that Apple is “anti-competitive,” but yet, Spotify are the ones that have not yet adopted support for HomePod. Nothing is stopping them. pic.twitter.com/zXA6gLfQ3e
— Sami Fathi (@SamiFathi_) April 30, 2021
Thinly veiled protectionism on behalf of the only European tech company with a significant market cap. https://t.co/zFB4tfBVUZ
— Patrick Hedger (@PatHedger18) April 30, 2021
EU “preliminary conclusions” sure sound like “We’ve definitely decided.” https://t.co/Xt3MNBQfBu
— Neil Chilson (@neil_chilson) April 30, 2021
There are a bunch of rules in the App Store that exist to funnel companies into giving Apple a 30% cut. The Spotify example is most egregious because Apple Music directly competes with them.
— Dare Obasanjo (@Carnage4Life) April 30, 2021
Many other app categories in a similar situation. Interesting.https://t.co/iOtSpjDfHW
Apple’s actions are damaging not only to Spotify, but to the entire ecosystem of app developers. That's why we filed a complaint against Apple with the @EU_Commission, and that’s why today’s Statement of Objections is great news for consumers and developers around the world. https://t.co/felakvGw7U
— Horacio Gutierrez (@horaciog) April 30, 2021
"The problem goes far beyond the App store, it's about Apple's control over the operating system itself."
— Kontra (@counternotions) April 30, 2021
(Now it's become a crime to have an essentially open-source OS that a company "controls"…on its own hardware. What comes after phone charger mandate, CPU diktat? Nuts.)
Let's imagine Apple will have to allow different payment options in the App Store – we'll see 1. crypto payment options, 2. games with tokenized in-game items and item marketplaces
— Inal Kardan ? (@ikardanoff) April 30, 2021
That's gonna be huge for the crypto industry. https://t.co/dLtKKOXfn3
“The trial will determine whether Apple’s control over iOS is a monopoly, and whether Apple can use that control to force developers to use the App Store and its payment system.” https://t.co/6lseuV9R2F
— Teresa Yanaros (@divinefrequency) May 1, 2021
European Commission says Apple’s App Store is anti-competitive. This will be a tough one for Apple to defend. https://t.co/IR870wGUIN
— Adrian Weckler (@adrianweckler) April 30, 2021
Congrats, all four companies now have antitrust charges against them. Here are the size of case rankings:
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) May 1, 2021
1) Google
2) Facebook
3) Amazon
4) Apple and against Facebook’s deepest wishes, the Apple case has nothing to do with IDFA and user data. :) https://t.co/V3Ow6z63Nh
If you're a company leader and, while a third of your staff are leaving, you're spending your time on Twitter retweeting a load of stuff about how nasty Apple is, I would venture to suggest that your priorities are fucked up beyond recognition. https://t.co/wUxCjGHfuL
— Ian Betteridge (@ianbetteridge) April 30, 2021
https://t.co/uwVBhw9FSq
— Rory Cellan-Jones (@ruskin147) April 30, 2021
European Commission says Apple
"abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store". Follows complaint from Spotify
Spoke to the @washingtonpost about how the Apple vs Epic court case is not just some spat between two companies, it has profound implications for the future of technology and human rights https://t.co/wx1UEudOVP pic.twitter.com/iOaziQHIX7
— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) April 30, 2021
The EU has found that Apple’s App Store rules drive up music streaming prices. Apple’s response is to… take credit for Spotify’s success? https://t.co/yom5KTXZPn pic.twitter.com/DhaImQIrVq
— nilay patel (@reckless) April 30, 2021
Totally! Apple should create, operate and improve its platform at low/no cost to its competitors, and even help them circumvent its rules and subscription revenues.
— Kontra (@counternotions) April 30, 2021
If Apple doesn't like it, it should be forced to cheat artists and track&sell users' data like its competitors. https://t.co/pPygl41gdH
"If found guilty, Apple could face a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue and be forced to adjust its business practices, though it can also appeal any decision in court". Okay, that'll do ? https://t.co/3YfM4HIJ6W
— DHH (@dhh) April 30, 2021
Memo to Apple: talking about how many apps are on your platform, and saying that people are free to switch to other platforms, will work precisely as well for you today as it did for Microsoft 20 years ago. That is to say - don’t bother.
— Benedict Evans (@benedictevans) April 30, 2021
For some time I was concerned Spotify's case might ultimately just help those who compete with Apple on subscription services (and that's only a few of us), but over time I realized it's really a great vehicle for moving the goal posts in the right direction. Congrats @horaciog . https://t.co/r4D8Ja2Dk6
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) April 30, 2021
Our preliminary conclusion: @Apple is in breach of EU competition law. @AppleMusic compete with other music streaming services. But @Apple charges high commission fees on rivals in the App store & forbids them to inform of alternative subscription options. Consumers losing out.
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) April 30, 2021
Update: In response, Apple says "At the core of this case is Spotify’s demand they should be able to advertise alternative deals on their iOS app, a practice that no store in the world allows.” https://t.co/WIH0rE9GrZ
— 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) April 30, 2021
The secret number at the heart of the Apple-Epic trial has potentially been revealed: Testimony from an Epic witness says Apple docs show an about 78% profit margin for the App Store in 2019, with additional calculations pointing to an about 80% margin. https://t.co/xahA7IDrDf
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 1, 2021
Today is a big day. Fairness is the key to competition. With the @EU_Commission Statement of Objections, we are one step closer to creating a level playing field, which is so important for the entire ecosystem of European developers. https://t.co/dOw1K0Qo1W
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 30, 2021
Late friday news bit. In 2019 Apple's App Store had an 80% profit margin according to court doc refiled tonight with less redacted infohttps://t.co/oGMED4bonm
— Josh Sisco (@joshua_sisco) May 1, 2021
Epic vs Apple: Experts answer your questions https://t.co/CDcE3C8y9Q
— iMore (@iMore) May 1, 2021
European Union regulators on Friday accused Apple of violating antitrust laws by imposing unfair rules and fees on the makers of games, dating services, music platforms and other apps that depend on its App Store to reach customers. https://t.co/sXmGSSkEfT
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) May 1, 2021
Apple’s App Store Draws E.U. Antitrust Charge
— Karol Cummins (@karolcummins) April 30, 2021
By forcing app developers to use its payment system and comply with other rules, regulators said Apple broke European Union competition laws. https://t.co/4c9Cr6EtRm