Apple Pushes Back Against Sweeping Antitrust Bills

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Apple Strikes Back

Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday debated a sweeping set of antitrust bills aimed at Big Tech companies. One bill will provide more government funding to enforce antitrust laws. A second one, advanced by the committee, will prevent how state attorneys can transfer cases to other jurisdictions — a move that can help defendants. Another key bill will force Apple to end its control — and generous cut — of app store purchases, per CNBC. The committee is also taking a look at Apple’s practice of barring “sideloading” of apps, which allows creators to sidestep Apple’s app store controls, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple defended its App Store business practices ahead of the hearing, issuing a 16-page report outlining why allowing iPhone users to install software from outside its App Store would hurt consumer privacy and expose them to ransomware. [Related in AdExchanger: Antitrust Regulators Are Turning Up The Heat On Big Tech. Here’s Your Cheat Sheet]

Hello, Nancy?

Speaking of Apple, CEO Tim Cook gave a ring to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress to lobby against the antitrust bills aimed at Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google that were introduced earlier this month, according to The New York Times. Cook’s gripe? He believes lawmakers are rushing the bills, which he claims would stifle innovation and hurt consumers. Cook, along with executives and lobbyists representing Amazon and Facebook, have urged lawmakers to rethink the proposals. For example, Amazon’s top lobbyist, Brian Huseman, warned that the legislation would negatively impact sellers on the platform, specifically small- and medium-sized businesses.

State Of Play

Make room, Texas. In yet more antitrust news, a group of state attorneys general may file a lawsuit against Google as early as next week, according to Reuters. The latest salvo against Google is being led by Utah, Tennessee, North Carolina and New York, claiming that Google violated antitrust law. The lawsuit is expected to focus on Google’s mobile app store and a “requirement that some apps use the company’s payment tools to sell subscriptions and content and pay Google as much as 30% of sales.” Those states will have to get in line – the company is already facing antitrust lawsuits filed by the Justice Department and Texas. Not to mention that the latest suit will likely be filed in federal court in Northern California, according to Reuters, where related cases are being heard.

But Wait, There’s More!

An international coalition of consumer protection, digital and civil rights organizations and data protection experts have joined the call to ban ‘surveillance advertising.’ [TechCrunch]

Analytics platform Facet secured $8 million in seed funding. [release]

Marriott is spending again, debuting its biggest global campaign yet as travel rebounds. [Ad Age]