From CNET: A bipartisan Senate bill unveiled Wednesday could set new rules for how app stores are run and for what rules companies like Apple and Google can impose on developers. The bill, introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, marks the latest effort by lawmakers to rein in big tech companies.
Called the Open App Markets Act, the proposed law could change the way people download programs to their phones, tablets and computers. Among its provisions, the bill would bar companies from forcing developers to use their payment systems. It would also ensure that developers could tell customers about lower pricing on other platforms. And it would force companies like Apple to allow alternative ways to install apps on their devices.
"This legislation will tear down coercive anticompetitive walls in the app economy, giving consumers more choices and smaller startup tech companies a fighting chance," Blumenthal said in a statement. "For years, Apple and Google have squashed competitors and kept consumers in the dark -- pocketing hefty windfalls while acting as supposedly benevolent gatekeepers of this multi-billion dollar market."
Google and Apple declined to comment on the bill directly. "The App Store is the cornerstone of our work to connect developers and customers in a way that is safe and trustworthy," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement.
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