New Evidence That the Open App Markets Act Would Harm App Developers and Innovation

Rumor has it that sponsors of the Open App Markets Act (OAMA) are rushing the legislation through Congress before the end of the current session. I won’t speculate on why the sponsors are in a hurry. But I will challenge their claims that the smartphone and app industries need a regulatory rescue, even if the legislation provided that. It does not.

The sponsors claim that Apple and Alphabet—the two premier providers of smartphone platforms—repress competition from startup app companies and harm consumers by discouraging innovation and artificially raising prices. Targeting Apple, the sponsors assert that the company has stifled competition by preventing access to third-party app stores on iPhones, requiring app developers to use Apple’s payment system and “penaliz[ing] app developers for telling users about discounted offers.”

Read Dr. Jamison’s complete blog post at AEI.