The legislation has emerged as a flash point because it has the best chance of becoming law among a handful of bills aimed at reining in Big Tech.
App store fees, generally between 15% and 30% of each transaction, have delivered Apple and Alphabet-owned Google a combined US$159bil since 2015, according to data provided by market research firm SensorTower. As Microsoft stepped up its lobbying in favour of the bill, it confirmed it left a group called ACT-App Association that’s opposed to the measure.
“Disappointing that Microsoft would lobby so hard for a law targeting its competitors, while carving out its own exception for Xbox,” tweeted Google chief legal officer Kent Walker last month. Not only does Meta have a “blood feud” with Apple, said Paul Gallant of Cowen & Co LLC, its long-term growth strategy includes the videogame-heavy metaverse, which is constrained by existing app-store rules. The company also hopes to expand its in-app commerce offering, which would be subject to fees from the app stores, said Mandeep Singh of Bloomberg Intelligence.