The new Senate bill targets the dominance of Apple and Google’s app stores

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Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar and Marsha Blackburn would ban certain contractual obligations that app developers claim they are forced to accept by major app stores in order to reach consumers.

If adopted, the bill could impose radical new requirements on major technology platforms; its provisions apply to all app distribution services with more than 50 million users.

Under the bill, Apple (AAPL), for example, could not require apps to use the iPhone maker’s proprietary payment channels to process the sale of digital goods and services, a problem that has swelled into a big legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. (A decision is expected in this case this month.) You may need to allow third-party app stores to run on the iPhone. And Apple couldn’t stop app developers from communicating with their users in ways that could be detrimental to their bottom line.

App store operators would also be prohibited from placing their own proprietary apps above those of rivals in app store searches.

Tech industry groups immediately expressed opposition to the bill. Chamber of Progress, a group backed by Apple and Google (GOOG), said the legislation sided with lobbyists from Epic Games, Spotify and Tile, all vocal critics of the biggest companies.

“This bill is a finger in the eye of anyone who has bought an iPhone or Android because the phones and their app stores are safe, reliable and easy to use,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of Chamber of Progress. “I don’t see any consumers marching in Washington demanding that Congress make its smartphones more stupid. And Congress has better things to do than intervene in a multimillion-dollar business dispute.”

Corie Wright, Epic Games Vice President of Public Policy, applauded the bill. “The introduction of this bill is an important milestone in the continuing struggle for fairer digital platforms,” ​​Wright said in a statement. “Its passage would allow developers to seek injunctions for violations of the law, which will help level the playing field for small companies opposing monopolists who are abusing their market power.”

Smaller app developers like Proton, the Swiss company behind the privacy-focused email service ProtonMail, echoed this sentiment, saying the bill would help address monopolistic practices that have effectively become a “huge tax. on the Internet”.

“Proton applauds Senators Blumenthal, Blackburn and Klobuchar for recognizing these realities and introducing a bill that would trigger a seismic level of innovation,” said Proton CEO Andy Yen.

The legislation comes amid increasingly careful scrutiny of both the impact of the tech sector on competition in general, and the practices of Apple’s and Google’s app stores in particular. Numerous investigations into the app ecosystem are underway around the world, including in Europe and the UK. Earlier this year Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate antitrust subcommittee, held a congressional hearing to look into the app market. Tech dominance has proven to be an area where Democrats and Republicans have found common ground, as evidenced by the bipartisan nature of the new bill.

“For years, Apple and Google have crushed competitors and kept consumers in obscurity by pocketing hefty profits while acting as supposedly benevolent guardians of this multi-billion dollar market,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “I am proud to partner with Senators Blackburn and Klobuchar in this groundbreaking blow against Big Tech bullying. This bipartisan bill will help break the iron grip of these tech giants, open the app economy to new competitors and give mobile users more control over their own devices. ”

Blackburn said the tech giants’ app store terms are “a direct affront to a free and fair market,” and Klobuchar said the bill would level the playing field.

In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said, “The App Store is the cornerstone of our work to connect developers and customers securely and reliably. … At Apple, our goal is to maintain an App Store where people can trust that every app must meet our strict guidelines and that their privacy and security are protected. “

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both Apple and Google have defended their app stores as they drive innovation and support small businesses, without harming them.

The legislation contains an issue that could offer a way out for app stores: the bill includes exceptions for app store practices necessary to promote user privacy and security or to combat fraud and provided that operators app stores provide “clear and compelling evidence” that such practices are not designed to discriminate among app developers.

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