App Store Antitrust Pressure Builds: Report says it Inflates App Prices

The White House recently commissioned a new analysis that has increased the antitrust pressure on Apple and Google regarding the App Store. The report found that the control they exercise over the market results in inflated app prices as well as the potential loss of innovation.

It essentially supports the amendments made to the proposed antitrust legislation, which had bipartisan support in Congress but fell short of becoming law. Regulators from all across the world have determined that Apple’s sole monopoly over the sale of iOS apps is anti-competitive, making the App Store its largest antitrust concern.

Some developers claim that Apple’s limits on what their apps can accomplish prevent them from directly competing with the iPhone maker’s own stock apps, such as Wallet, and that they are required to pay Apple 15% or 30% commission, which drives up the rates they must charge consumers.

Apple argues that consumers have been protected from viruses and other fraudulent programs thanks to its strict oversight of the App Store. The business is far from perfect at this, as evidenced by the data, but it is argued that problems would be worse without Apple’s review procedure.