Apple, Google say US antitrust bills would harm user privacy and security amid bipartisan effort to rein in Big Tech
- Apple and Google said new legislation would make it harder to protect users by undermining features such as the iPhone’s new App Tracking Transparency feature
- The Klobuchar-Grassley bill would force Apple to allow users to sideload apps and has support among small tech firms, but the White House has yet to endorse it
Escalating its opposition to the legislation, Apple sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin; the panel’s ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley; Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar; and the subcommittee’s ranking Republican, Mike Lee. The letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg News, underscores Apple’s push to protect its App Store from government oversight and changes that would disrupt its business model.
“After a tumultuous year that witnessed multiple controversies regarding social media, whistle-blower allegations of long-ignored risks to children, and ransomware attacks that hobbled critical infrastructure, it would be ironic if Congress responds by making it much harder to protect the privacy and security of Americans’ personal devices,” Tim Powderly, Apple’s senior director of government affairs, said in the letter. “Unfortunately, that is what these bills would do.”
Alphabet Inc’s Google, meanwhile, criticised the legislation in a blog post, saying it would hamstring popular products such as Google Search and Gmail. Like Apple, Google said the bills under consideration would hinder security and privacy and end up harming consumers.
The first bill mentioned in Apple’s letter – legislation sponsored by Klobuchar and Grassley – would require some changes to dominant tech platforms that Apple says would allow iPhone and iPad users to install apps outside of the App Store, a process known as sideloading.
If the bill were to become law, sideloading would upset key elements of Apple’s business model. It would make it difficult or impossible for Apple to collect its 15 per cent to 30 per cent App Store commission, and it would disrupt the company’s privacy and security stance.
A spokesperson for Klobuchar disputed the idea that the bill would undercut security.
“The bill does not force Apple to allow unscreened apps onto Apple devices,” the representative said in a statement. “All of Apple’s arguments about ‘sideloading’ really amount to a desperate attempt to preserve their app store monopoly, which they use to charge huge fees from businesses they are competing against.”
