The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) claims that the majority of Americans want to see App Store competition, alongside other antitrust legislation.
CAF commissioned two polls which show strong support for antitrust bills, one of which would mean opening up Apple and Google app stores to third-party competitors and/or sideloading …
About CAF
CAF was formed back in 2020 by a small group of companies, led by Epic Games, Spotify, and Tile – each of which was battling with Apple at the time. The lobbying group made no secret of its nemesis.
Every day, Apple taxes consumers and crushes innovation. The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization founded by industry-leading companies to advocate for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem.
The group has been calling for independent iOS app stores and lower commissions for developers.
Says most Americans want App Store competition
CAF says that 79% of voters support the Open App Markets Act, which, among other things, calls for an end to monopoly control of the iOS app market by Apple.
Recent research conducted by OnMessage Public Strategies and Lake Research Partners found likely voters in both parties back legislation to address the anticompetitive practices of app store gatekeepers.
The surveys found that 68% of voters think Big Tech has too much power and 79% support efforts by Congress to pass the Open App Markets Act and open up the mobile app ecosystem to competition. In California, polling showed that 69% of likely California voters believe Big Tech has too much power and 75% support the Open App Markets Act […]
There is clear, overwhelming, and bipartisan support for Congress to pass the Open App Markets Act and other legislative measures. Across all states and key political demographics, likely voters believe Big Tech companies are too powerful and have not been regulated enough. Likely voters in these key political states are rejecting the arguments being made by Big Tech companies and their allies as they attempt to stave off new regulation.
The organization claims that getting behind antitrust legislation is a good move by politicians across the aisle.
“The numbers don’t lie – voters across the country overwhelmingly want their members of Congress to stop Big Tech’s anticompetitive practices,” said Rick VanMeter, Executive Director for the Coalition for App Fairness. “Voters have made clear that they want flexibility and choice in how they access apps on their mobile devices. These findings demonstrate that reining in mobile app store gatekeepers by passing the Open App Markets Act is a winning issue for Republicans and Democrats alike. Congress has a simple choice: side with Big Tech or support the American people.”
The Open App Markets Act, would fix the broken mobile app marketplace by requiring mobile gatekeepers to allow third party app stores and third party in-app payment systems. Additionally, the legislation prohibits anti-competitive practices, such as “self-preferencing,” by banning app stores from engaging in behaviors that put their products at an advantage over independent developers and competitors.
Asked about the amount of power Apple wields, 59% said that it was too much, 28% the right amount. On the regulation of Apple and Google, 65% felt there should be more, 20% that it’s about right now, and 6% felt they should be regulated less.
9to5Mac’s Take
CAF is keen to point out that one of the research firms backs the Republican party while the other supports the Democratic party, in an attempt to show lack of political bias. But anyone involved in polling will tell you that you can get any results you like by asking the right questions in the right way.
For example, when asking about regulation, the poll lumps together Apple and Google, which have very different business models.
The phrasing of the question about the Open App Markets Act – the most relevant one where App Store competition is concerned – is also strongly biased.
As you may have heard, there is [another] bill being debated in Congress, known as the Open App Markets Act, regarding the two largest mobile app stores, Apple App Store and Google Play store. Currently, Apple and Google have monopoly control over what apps are allowed in their app stores and how consumers are able to download the apps. The legislation would force Apple and Google to compete and give consumers more flexibility to download apps of their choice. With this in mind, would you support or oppose this bill?
To CAF’s credit, it does list the actual questions asked, but it knows that most media outlets are only going to cover the headline results.
Other polls show that there is majority support for antitrust legislation, but these particular polls should be taken with a very large serving of salt.
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