Apple, Google Face UK Antitrust Probe Into Mobile Ecosystem Power

[wanha]

But that’s what regulations are supposed to solve! We can use regulations to force competition to exist.

Yes, but some problems are difficult to solve with regulation.

In this particular instance, how would you use regulation to force a third OS if the market doesn't seem to want one?

 

[steve09090]

Yes, but some problems are difficult to solve with regulation.

In this particular instance, how would you use regulation to force a third OS if the market doesn't seem to want one?

I think it works better if you provide new players a carrot rather than current players a stick.

 

[mcnallym]

The regulation would apply to companies after they’ve reached a certain market size.

Developers would be regulated too to ensure they made their apps available on all platforms and that they don’t have the power to pick and choose which platform ‘wins’ by not developing for certain platforms.

Consumers would then pick and choose products from whichever manufacturer they like.

So in other words there is nothing to incentivise or create a new mobile platform in your regulation.

The regulations apply once reach a certain market share. So how will you create the additional mobile platforms in the first place because nothing there in your answer as to how going to get a company to create the new mobile platform in the first place.

So you are going to make developers spend resources on developing for all platforms. Developers will prioritise iOS over Android if looking at a balance sheet because iOS owners spend a lot more money the Android owners. Not only per person but also overall figure is higher. Some will not develop on iOS because don’t want to work with Apple.

Presumably this will also be done at a certain size because otherwise all the small developers, one man band apps will also suddenly have to develop for all platforms.

So surely then for your competition what you need is

So every app will have to be on every platform irrespective of size of developer otherwise why will they develop on an unknown platform. - the developer doesn’t pick the winner.
Presumably then every app on the platform will have to be in every AppStore on that platform, afterall why should they be forced to use a specific AppStore. - the developer cannot then pick the winner by choosing a particular AppStore.
Every AppStore will have to offer every payment platform out there, ie on the Fortnite Store then would have ApplePay and Apple would have Fortnite’s payment scheme. - the AppStore cannot pick the winner by restricting the payment method.


The price the consumer pays would be the same irrespective of the payment method as not allowed in the EU to charge differently, so when I goto the supermarket, if I pay cash, debit card, credit card then I pay the same price and the supermarket has to cover the difference in the fee’s that they then pay.

Why not go further and say that every mobile platform out there has to support all the mobile hardware out there, and that all the hardware has to support all platforms.

 

[justperry]

This looks like a more reasonable investigation than the DMA. I appreciate that they are looking at competition between the two OSes before declaring changes are needed, and limiting the fines to 1% instead of an insane 20% of worldwide revenue is welcome.

Edit: it appears the 1% is a typo and it is actually 10% of worldwide revenue. Which is better than 20%, but still insane. We'll see how it shakes out.

There's no Maximum set, I didn't read the complete article but it seems to me it's 10-20% for lesser fines, 30% normal.


CMA’s guidance as to the appropriate amount of a penalty

 

[justperry]

UK regulators on Thursday launched an investigation into Apple and Google's smartphone ecosystems to assess whether they have "strategic market status" (SMS), a designation that if imposed would subject the companies to specific conduct requirements set by the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) to improve competition.

The investigation will look at the companies' operating systems, app stores and browsers that operate on mobile devices, and the impact they have on users and on businesses developing content and services such as apps for iOS and Android devices. According to the CMA's press release, the issues that will form part of the CMA's investigations include:

• The extent of competition between and within Apple's and Google's mobile ecosystems. The CMA will assess how competition is working across Apple's and Google's mobile ecosystems and what barriers may be preventing other competitors from offering rival products and services on Apple's and Google's platforms.
• Possible leveraging of Apple's and Google's market power into other activities. This will include investigating whether Apple or Google are using their position in operating systems, app distribution or browsers to favour their own apps and services, which often come pre-installed and prominently placed on iOS and Android devices.
• Potential exploitative conduct. This will include investigating whether Apple or Google are requiring app developers to sign up to unfair terms and conditions as a condition of distributing their apps on Apple's and Google's app stores; and whether users may be presented with 'choice architecture' which makes it difficult to make active choices about which apps they are using on mobile devices.

If deemed to have SMS designation, the potential conduct requirements the companies would have to comply with could include, for example, requiring Apple or Google to open up access to key functionality needed by other apps to operate on mobile devices, or making it possible for users to download apps and pay for in-app content more easily outside of Apple's and Google's own app stores.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said:
This is the second announced SMS investigation in as many weeks, the first of which is looking into Google Search's approximately 90% market share. The CMA said at the time that a second one would be coming this month, and now we have it. The CMA can impose significant fines for non-compliance, including up to 1% of a firm's annual worldwide turnover, with additional penalties for continued noncompliance. Individuals in senior management positions may also face fines or disqualification from serving as directors.

The probe will take no more than nine months, and the statutory deadline for both investigations is October 22, 2025. The investigations are separate to the CMA's ongoing market investigation into mobile browser and cloud gaming restrictions put in place by both Apple and Google.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple, Google Face UK Antitrust Probe Into Mobile Ecosystem Power

There's likely a mistake in this article, the fine most likely is 10% instead of 1%.

CMA’s guidance as to the appropriate amount of a penalty