Governing bodies are doing the dictating, as is their prerogative and obligation quite honestly. We have governing bodies to govern, to regulate, to control, to set the rules of the road and update them as they need to be as well as respond to changes that are voted or lobbied for.
Order in the world is brought about by organizing and governing bodies. Markets don't exist without bodies doing the governing.
Separate out in your mind who brings cases to the forefront. There is always going to be someone doing that, usually a business entity with a complaint. That doesn't make them the bad guy just for bringing an issue (case) to the attention of regulators. Somebody has to.
100% agree that most business related suites are brought by other companies. That doesn't mean the concern is for the benefit of constituents. In actuality, it rarely is, it is more common that the constituent or consumer in those cases will see little or no difference in their market position and/or importance.
The idea that consumer's would be paying less for Apps if Apple was taking no share or a smaller share is quite simply not supported by history or human nature. The consumer cost of any product or service will naturally be set by the maximum that the consumer market is willing to pay. If that is 9.99, it doesn't matter how that 9.99 is split up behind the register.
Damage to the consumer isn't really an issue being legislated. So then the question comes to, who is being damaged by the current system and how. Most small apps never realize annual revenue in excess of 1million in sales. Most small developers generate money through a combination of sale and ad revenue, with add revenue accounting for the majority share. Also, most small developers can't maintain the staffing and infrastructure cost to deliver services at an equivalent level to the App Store. So, small or/and medium developers are probably not being screwed by the current system, and if they are, it is not like any more severe than any farmer is being screwed by grocery distributors.
It may be safe to assume that the only ones being potentially damaged by Apple's system are major developers. The question then becomes, at what point do we use the power of the government to dictate business arrangements between corporations. Obviously, there are times it is important, but I think those times would more likely deal with consumer safety, fraud, and or environmental responsibility, which sadly is where most governments spend the least amount of there efforts.
The way I see most of this is politics, not governing. The value of targeting Apple for any of there supposed or actual sins isn't in correcting them. The value is being seen as fighting the monster that is responsible for everything not perfect in your life. The richer the monster, the better the narrative. The narrative is all that matters, because it's politics and not governing.
Also, can I just say thank you for not posting outrageous hyperbolic crap. Your posts are always thoughtful and respectful, I dig it. 😁
