Chairwoman Klobuchar Issues Statement Following Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing on App Stores and Mobile App Competition

Statement

Following today's Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights hearing on app stores and mobile app competition, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, issued the following statement:

"This hearing shined a light on the array tactics used by Apple and Google to stifle competition.

"These are some of the biggest companies the world has ever seen -- and we heard today how they use their power to exclude or suppress apps that compete with their own products and charge excessive fees to some businesses using their app stores. We also heard about how Apple makes it more difficult for consumers to find out about better deals outside of the App Store.

"Additionally, there was testimony on how these companies have resorted to threats as they work to retain their market dominance.

"App developers told us they were afraid to speak up about the hardships caused by this exclusionary behavior.

"When I asked the witness from Match about the threat of retaliation, he said, "We're all afraid." Spotify testified that Apple has threatened to take them off their app store and stop promoting them after they spoke out about monopoly behavior and high fees. Match received a late night call from Google with intrusive questions about their prepared testimony.

"If these actions aren't proof of serious competition problems, I don't know what is.

"The testimonies today strengthened the case for sweeping antitrust reform so companies big and small don't have to live or die by the whims of monopolies."

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