84% of app developers support an antitrust bill aimed at curtailing the market power of Apple’s and Google’s app stores, according to a poll from the Coalition for App Fairness released Monday, January 31.
The industry group for app developers is pushing Congress to pass the Open App Markets Act, a bipartisan Senate bill that would block app stores from favoring their own in-house apps in searches, requiring developers to use their payment systems and preventing users from downloading apps from third-party stores.
Developers surveyed by the group complained about exorbitant fees charged by the largest app stores — Apple charges a 30% commission on app store sales for large developers — and expressed how they’d experienced difficulty getting their apps featured or accepted by app stores. Just 13% of app developers surveyed oppose the bill.
“The evidence is clear – app developers want the Open App Markets Act to pass so that they can have the opportunity to compete in a fair digital marketplace,” Meghan DiMuzio, executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness, said in a statement.
“For too long, developers have been harmed by gatekeepers’ monopolistic practices, and consumers have suffered from less choice and innovation.”
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