On Tuesday, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview with ‘Axios on HBO’ that Apple has ‘unilateral control of what gets on its App Store. Facebook CEO thinks that Apple ‘deserve scrutiny’ as the unilateral control of the company over the App Store could damage competition. During the interview, Zuckerberg was asked whether Apple’s App Store is a monopoly or not. He replied that he certainly thinks that Apple has unilateral control over what gets on the iPhone in terms of applications.
Zuckerberg said in the interview that it is probably nearly 50% of US citizens who own smartphones and a lot more individuals across the globe. He said that there are over one billion Apple devices. He added that he does think that there are questions that users should be looking into about that control of the company over its App Store. It is worth noting that Facebook as well as Apple are under antitrust investigation, and both Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared before the United States House Judiciary Committee in July.
When he was asked that if the App Store should be investigated, he replied that he thinks that he is ‘not necessarily’ the person to answer this question. However, Zuckerberg said that he believes some of the behavior certainly raises questions and Apple deserves scrutiny.
Then, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer praised Google allowing Android users to install applications from sources other than its own Play Store. He said that if a developer is not in the Play Store, they still have ways to get their application on the devices of people.
Apple has been facing high-profile challenges during the past few months to App Store policies that force app developers to use Apple’s payments system for purchases made within the app. Apple charges a 30% commission on each in-app purchase, and Facebook publicly criticized Apple last month. On 14 August of this year, Apple refused to waive the commission for a new tool offered by Facebook aimed at helping small businesses. Then on August 27, the social media giant announced that the company tried to tell iOS users that Apple will take 30% of their payment in the new tool. However, Apple blocked this update too, and said that this new update had ‘irrelevant information.’ Moreover, in August of this year, Facebook CEO stated in an internal company webcast said Apple’s App Store allows the company to charge ‘monopoly rents.’
Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Read next: Facebook’s New Initiative Will Help Improve Digital Literacy Among People
Zuckerberg said in the interview that it is probably nearly 50% of US citizens who own smartphones and a lot more individuals across the globe. He said that there are over one billion Apple devices. He added that he does think that there are questions that users should be looking into about that control of the company over its App Store. It is worth noting that Facebook as well as Apple are under antitrust investigation, and both Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared before the United States House Judiciary Committee in July.
When he was asked that if the App Store should be investigated, he replied that he thinks that he is ‘not necessarily’ the person to answer this question. However, Zuckerberg said that he believes some of the behavior certainly raises questions and Apple deserves scrutiny.
Then, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer praised Google allowing Android users to install applications from sources other than its own Play Store. He said that if a developer is not in the Play Store, they still have ways to get their application on the devices of people.
Apple has been facing high-profile challenges during the past few months to App Store policies that force app developers to use Apple’s payments system for purchases made within the app. Apple charges a 30% commission on each in-app purchase, and Facebook publicly criticized Apple last month. On 14 August of this year, Apple refused to waive the commission for a new tool offered by Facebook aimed at helping small businesses. Then on August 27, the social media giant announced that the company tried to tell iOS users that Apple will take 30% of their payment in the new tool. However, Apple blocked this update too, and said that this new update had ‘irrelevant information.’ Moreover, in August of this year, Facebook CEO stated in an internal company webcast said Apple’s App Store allows the company to charge ‘monopoly rents.’
Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Read next: Facebook’s New Initiative Will Help Improve Digital Literacy Among People
