Apple agrees to testify at US Senate hearing, App Store antitrust violation issue

by YunHo LEE

Apple charges a large amount of fees on the App Store, which is an app distribution store for iOS, and developers have complained and criticized it as 'a violation of the Antimonopoly Act.' On April 9, 2021, Senators accused Apple of 'Apple did not send witnesses to a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee,' but on the 11th Apple accused Kyle. Andia has announced that it will have its Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) attend the hearing on April 21st.

Apple Makes Top Executive Available at Senate App Store Hearing --Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-11/apple-makes-top-executive-available-at-senate-app-store-hearing

Apple agrees to testify before US Senate on app store antitrust concerns | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-antitrust-apple-idUSKBN2BY0T8

Apple says it will send a witness to Senate hearing on app stores after all --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/11/22378697/apple-witness-senate-judiciary-hearing-antitrust-app-stores

Apple's Chief Compliance Officer will speak at Senate antitrust hearing | AppleInsider
https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/04/11/apple-cco-kyle-andeer-will-speak-at-senate-antitrust-hearing

The App Store collects 30% of sales from paid app purchases and in-app purchases as a commission, and many developers have complained. In August 2020, when Epic Games, the developer of the popular game 'Fort Knight ', implemented a billing method that does not go through the App Store, Apple removed 'Fort Knight' from the App Store as a violation of the terms. In response, Epic Games has sued Apple for 'fair competition.'

'Fortnite' developer Epic Games sues Apple-GIGAZINE

The situation of forcing two choices, 'allow to pay an exorbitant fee of 30% of sales or give up app distribution through the App Store' is an act that takes advantage of Apple's market advantage and is prohibited from antitrust. Some have pointed out that it may be a violation of the law. Therefore, the US Federal Trade Commission and others are investigating antitrust violations on the App Store.

In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook testified at a hearing in July 2020 that he was 'opening the door to developers' and in November 2020, 'the previous year's annual revenue was 100. For small businesses under $ 10,000, we've announced a new program that will reduce the App Store commission rate to 15%. '

Apple launches a program to reduce the App Store's 30% commission to 15%, what are the requirements? --GIGAZINE

On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee told Apple CEO Cook that 'Apple has refused to represent Apple at hearings related to antitrust violations on App Sotre and Google Play. I sent a letter accusing him. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee argued in a letter that it was unacceptable for Apple to refuse to testify at the hearing. 'We urge Apple to rethink its position and send a person to testify in front of the committee,' he said.

In response, Apple sent a letter to senators on April 11, stating that it was 'surprised' to accuse Apple of refusing to send witnesses to the hearing, rather than refusing to participate. Claimed that he was just considering changing the date and time. 'We have a deep respect for your role and process on these issues,' Apple said, saying that Andia CCO will attend the hearing on April 21st.

Senator Lee said in a joint statement with Senator Klobuchar that he was pleased that Apple had decided to change the schedule and testify in front of the committee.