[eruleman]

The US should focus on breaking up the app store duopoly that charges 30% on all digital items. Apps are not even allowed to link out to their website or tell users that Apple/Google is taking a 30% cut!

Apple & Google don’t have to pay the app store tax & have products that compete with books, audiobooks, Spotify etc — this is the most blatant antitrust issue. I hope the US lawsuit leads with this.

[eikenberry]

What % should they charge then? It was my understanding that 30% was/is a fairly standard cut taken by retailers in general and they are just aligning with the industry. A quick search seems to confirm this idea with articles like this.. https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/07/report-steams-30-cut...

[internet101010]

I am guessing the 30% quoted is specifically for digital goods because 10-15% is the fair price for connecting buyers with sellers of physical goods. At least that is the case with platforms like eBay, Walmart, and Amazon.

Maybe someone can explain how the selling/labor costs of digital goods are twice that physical goods and justify 2-3x the commission. I would like to hear it because I am admittedly ignorant when it comes to the costs of content delivery - all I know is that egress can get expensive.

[Barrin92]

>What % should they charge then?

How about we go by European credit and debit card interchange fees capped at 0.2%. Credit Card CEOs seem reasonably happy, healthy and well fed. Maybe we'll get some cultural surplus value out of it if Valve is actually forced to make a video game again, Half Life 3 might actually happen, or maybe we'll get a new Portal or Team Fortress out of it.

[kg]

If the market was actually open, people would compete on different cuts and the % would eventually drift towards whatever the right number is.

Epic seems to do just fine charging 12% on their PC games store, vs Valve's variable (maximum of 30%; lower for big rich game studios) cut on Steam.

Apple and Google have also both put in place a lower cut for independent developers, which is further evidence that 30% isn't the 'right' number. It's just a number the market has no choice but to put up with.

I certainly don't blame them for wanting to pocket 30% of the filthy billions of dollars kids and gambling addicts pump into stuff like Genshin Impact. That's free money for Apple.

[olliej]

Isn't 30% standard across pretty much every App Store? Steam does not have lock in and yet I thought charged 30%, GoG is 30%, etc.

Obviously other app stores could in principle charge lower amounts because they don't actually have to do any development work, unlike google or apple who both actually do real development work for products after they've been sold. Despite that GoG and Steam seem to charge 30% anyway.

I'm curious what you think the development model for companies that aren't just store fronts should be if they aren't able to make money from development, especially given they appear to be charging that same amount as those companies that aren't doing anything other than providing a store front? Maybe software updates should cost money again? Or you should only get one year of updates for a device? Maybe free apps should be banned as well? After all supporting those costs money but makes none?

I'm genuinely curious how you think development should be paid for when 15-30% is too high for developers but fine for store fronts?

[darklion]

> Apps are not even allowed to link out to their website or tell users that Apple/Google is taking a 30% cut!

What business in their right mind would want to sell or stock a product that comes with a label that says, in effect, “Don’t spend your money here, go somewhere else”?

[summerlight]

A large number of products are being sold with some docs that has a link to their own merchandise store and promote them? Apple doesn't have to tell about the competitions on their app store, but they should allow each app whatever they want to do.

[munk-a]

A business that effectively feels consumer pressure. With their oligopoly neither Apple nor Google are feeling any consumer pressure to behave as good actors.

[lozenge]

Well exactly, which is why we need regulation to force them to stop treating the iPhone like it's an Apple-operated shopping centre.

[ajsnigrutin]

But this is standard in every other business. Want to buy a samsung phone? You can buy it at a samsung store directly or from amazon/walmart/your local telco. Printer? hp.com, or amazon, or walmart or whatever. You can even buy apple devices directly from apple stores or from other retailers.

[smoldesu]

Is my phone a business, or hardware that I own? That seems to be in contention here.

[ApolloFortyNine]

The literal most obvious start is apple, who doesn't allow users to even install another app store, or even an unapproved app at all.

After that sure, they can try to go after Google.

[isodev]

Why is suddenly “able to install another App Store” a thing or even a necessity?

I think this entire situation has been blown out of proportion. There are a few “loud” voices lobbying for stuff that are of no consequence or just false.

[whatever1]

And they definitely increase the prices for the customers. Apps charge you more when you buy from the app/play store vs if you buy from the internet.

[noiseinvacuum]

Exactly. This is the most problematic anti-competitive behavior and it's easily addressable by existing antitrust laws.

[m463]

I thought you even had to agree not to criticize apple.