Microsoft’s Brad Smith calls for more antitrust scrutiny of app stores
The President of Microsoft believes app stores should be subject to a more thorough anti-trust review.
Angela Lang / CNET
Microsoft President Brad Smith proposed that the app stores of competing companies Apple and Google be subjected to a more thorough antitrust review, as their rules make life difficult for small developers. Without explicitly mentioning Apple or Google, he told Politico that companies have created “higher walls and far more impressive gates” for their app stores than in the past.
“I think it is time, whether we are talking about Washington, DC or Brussels, to have a much more focused conversation about the nature of the app stores,” said Smith in the Politico interview, referring to the rules and cuts from the Companies.
His comments came two days after the European Competition Commission opened double examinations in Apple Pay and the App Store.
Apple was also scrutinized on how to use the Hey subscription-based email app, TechCrunch notes. The developers tweeted that updates were rejected multiple times, apparently because Hey didn’t offer an in-app purchase for the full $ 99 service per year. The app lacks functionality when downloading. You must visit the company’s website to log in.
Phil Schiller, senior vice president of global marketing at Apple, told TechCrunch on Thursday that the company is currently not considering changes to the App Store rules.
