Apple urges House Judiciary Committee to block antitrust legislation

Apple wrote an open letter to the House Judiciary Committee, arguing that the proposed App Store legislation will “harm consumers” and create “no bottom line competition” that brings about privacy. While legislators were deliberating on the five proposed bills, Apple wrote a letter outlining what it believed was “the harm caused by these bills.” Apple’s letter was addressed to the chairman and chief members of the House Judiciary Committee, and it followed and reiterated previous discussions with that committee. Timothy Powderly, Apple’s senior director of government affairs for the Americas, wrote: “…Our common goal is to ensure that U.S. laws and Apple’s business practices promote competition, promote innovation, and provide consumers with benefits and critical protections. ” Apple believes that the proposed legislation will increase privacy risks, reduce competition, and eliminate what it says is parents’ trust in app stores to protect children. “The iPhone is uniquely suitable for those who don’t want to balance the risks every time they download an application,” Powderly wrote in the full document provided below. “Some customers may want to do this, but Congress should not impose this model on everyone. Legislation mandating Apple to allow sideloading will prevent Apple from continuing to provide consumers with this safer choice, reducing competition and reducing competition. Consumer welfare. Apple believes that side-loaded applications “may carry ransomware, or deceive users to download fake versions of popular applications, thereby stealing login credentials and monitoring users.” The company said this will “make it easier for criminals to put iPhone users at risk.” “Parents are concerned enough to protect their children in the digital world. Congress should not increase this burden by mandating that the iPhone be opened to less secure apps. Parents rely on Apple’s security ecosystem to guard against those who will sell. Children’s data or apps that expose children to inappropriate content. In addition, suggestions for in-app purchases will severely limit the effectiveness of child safety features, such as parental controls for’request to purchase’.” In response to criticism that Apple has unfairly favored its own apps in the App Store, the company stated that it faces “strong competition from very successful developers in every category in which we provide our own apps.” ” “We continue to improve the core functions of the iPhone, including many products in the App Store to attract customers,” Powderly said. “The successful record of third-party applications on the App Store speaks for itself. We have no incentive to discriminate against developers, and broad regulations do not allow applications to be treated differently, which may distort the competitive landscape on the App Store. .” Apple says its business is “device-based,” which will “incentivize[苹果]Create high-quality applications and develop high application standards.” If legislation mandates companies to “hand over intellectual property rights,” it will “allow third parties to take advantage of Apple’s investment and hard work for free.” Padley insisted that such legislation would “make it difficult or even impossible for Apple to innovate in barrier-free environments, health, and other sensitive areas.” At the same time that Apple wrote to the committee, the company also issued a guide for the public outlining the same views. Its user privacy director Erik Neuenschwander has been talking about these issues, and Tim Cook recently released a video detailing Apple’s position on privacy