A big new report by the Democrat-led US House of Representatives has slammed Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google for what it describes as “monopolistic” practices – and perhaps most notably, criticised Apple’s 30 per cent App Store cut.
That cut is, of course, a key issue in the ongoing Epic Games versus Apple lawsuit, a case which looks likely to drag on well into next year.
At 449 pages, the report takes its time to argue each of the aforementioned companies controls the lion’s share of their particular market, be it Apple’s mobile operating system, Google’s online search and advertising, Facebook’s social network and advertising, or Amazon’s dominance over the online retail market.
“To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons,” the report begins (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz).
“Although these firms have delivered clear benefits to society, the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google has come at a price. These firms typically run the marketplace while also competing in it – a position that enables them to write one set of rules for others, while they play by another, or to engage in a form of their own private quasi regulation that is unaccountable to anyone but themselves.”