Update from Apple:
“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted experience our users love and a fantastic business opportunity for developers in the U.S. and around the world. We face intense competition everywhere we operate, and we are proud to be an engine for innovation and economic growth. We are concerned this EU-style regulation will open our users to new privacy and security risks, and will continue to advocate on their behalf.” – Apple spokesperson
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators has revived the Open App Markets Act, legislation that aims to pry open Apple’s App Store and Google Play’s walled gardens by outlawing the practices that critics say let the tech giants act as toll-keepers of the mobile economy.
According to Senator Blackburn’s press release, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) formally re-filed the bill on 25 June after a three-year hiatus, arguing that the dominant app stores “squash competition and drive up costs for consumers.”
The bill would compel Apple and Google. Neither company is named in the text, but both are clearly targeted to:
- Permit sideloading and third-party app stores
- Allow alternative in-app payment systems and ban “anti-steering” rules that stop developers from advertising cheaper prices elsewhere
- Prohibit retaliation against developers who seek outside distribution channels
- Establish safeguards so new competition does not compromise user privacy or security
Blumenthal framed the measure as an overdue antitrust reset: “For years, Apple and Google have acted as gatekeepers, building up anticompetitive walls,” he said. Blackburn called the bill “essential for a freer and fairer marketplace” that gives both consumers and small developers real choice.
Lawmakers first introduced the Open App Markets Act in 2021, and it even cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2022 before stalling on the floor amid a furious lobbying blitz from Big Tech. Its new incarnation lands at a moment of intensified scrutiny: Apple is appealing its partial antitrust loss in Epic Games v. Apple, the Justice Department is pressing a separate lawsuit over iPhone software restrictions, and Europe’s Digital Markets Act has already forced Apple to enable limited third-party app stores in the EU.
What Does It Mean for You
If the bill advances, it will still need companion legislation in the House and President Biden’s signature to become law. Industry groups such as Spotify and the Coalition for App Fairness have applauded the reintroduction, saying it would “drain the moat” around today’s dominant platforms. Apple and Google have not issued fresh statements on the 2025 proposal, but both companies have previously argued that sideloading threatens user security and that their commission structure funds vital tools for developers.
With election-year politics heightening the appetite for bipartisan tech reform, notably on issues that hit consumer wallets, the senators behind the Open App Markets Act believe the third time could be the charm. Whether the measure survives the coming gauntlet of committee hearings and tech-industry push-back will determine if the U.S. joins Europe in forcing open the most valuable storefronts on modern smartphones.
And why in the world would this legislation need former President Biden’s signature to become law??