US House of Representatives Weigh In on Apple Vs Epic Games Lawsuit
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The ongoing Apple v. Epic Games lawsuit has a new development with the US House of Representatives getting involved. As reported by gamesindustry.biz, the antitrust committee has completed an investigation on the alleged monopolistic policies of tech giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
According to the 449-page report, these 4 companies have controlled the market as ‘gatekeepers’. This basically means that they enjoy a certain position of power using which they can stem competition from entering the market. But this is not directly and explicitly stated here, but it could be interpreted in that manner.
While Google, Amazon, and Facebook are being targeted for their alleged wrongdoings, Apple is under scrutiny for controlling the App Market.
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The report begins with “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.”
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Additionally, the report also mentions, “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.”
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In addition to this, the report also explicitly mentions the monopolistic power held by Apple. As reported by Eurogamer, app developer Riley tweeted the following.
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According to congress, Apple “exerts monopoly power in the mobile app store market,” which “has resulted in harms to competitors and competition, reducing quality and innovation among app developers, and increasing prices & reducing choices for consumers.” https://t.co/SR7H51LCuP pic.twitter.com/CBrTjEoMLN
— Riles 🦄 (@rileytestut) October 6, 2020
Obviously, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney also weighed in on this. Although, he didn’t put it into words this time. Instead, he just retweeted a series of threads by individuals who have highlighted this particular report.
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This is indeed an alarming situation for the tech giants under scrutiny. It also seems Epic Games now has a major boost with the US House of Representatives seemingly backing its claims. Even though they didn’t explicitly mention their support, this will hurt Apple. This is because now the lawmakers also see it as holding a monopolistic position.
Although, this doesn’t mean that Tim Sweeney & Co can heave a sigh of relief. Their battle against Apple is still an uphill task where the will face many obstacles along the way. Nevertheless, this particular lawsuit will definitely change the face of the tech industry as a whole.