Reed Albergotti

Apple agrees to give some App Store developers more control over customer relationships

Apple announced a new concession for some App developers, giving apps such as Netflix and online publishers the ability to provide links to outside sign-up pages.  Apple’s App Store rules currently prohibit all developers from notifying their customers about alternative payment options where Apple cannot collect a sales commission. The new rules will only apply to sharing links within “reader apps” that provide previously purchased content or subscriptions for content such as newspapers, books, music and video.

The ‘app store’ before there was an App Store wants to liberate your iPhone … again

A new lawsuit brought by one of Apple’s oldest foes seeks to force the iPhone maker to allow alternatives to the App Store, the latest in a growing number of cases that aim to curb the tech giant’s power. The lawsuit was filed by the maker of Cydia, a once-popular app store for the iPhone that launched in 2007, before Apple created its own version.

When regulators fail to reign in Big Tech, some turn to antitrust litigation

When it comes to keeping monopolists in check, the government has played the leading role, from President Teddy Roosevelt battling the railroad at the turn of the century to the Department of Justice taking on Microsoft in the 1990s.

Online video game Fortnite gets kicked off Apple App Store after sidestepping payment system

Apple kicked the popular Fortnite video game off its App Store after the gaming company released a payment system that sidestepped Apple’s. Fortnite maker Epic Games released a feature that lets users choose how they want to pay for in-app purchases — either through the App Store or Play Store, or from Epic directly, which saves up to 20 percent.  Apple takes a cut of in-app sales — usually 30 percent — in a practice that has faced significant backlash from

Amid antitrust scrutiny, Apple makes quiet power moves over developers

During Apple’s annual developer’s conference in June, it announced that smaller developers would finally have access to its “Find My” app, a move that on the surface could appease developers who have asserted that Apple has too much power. It turns out the announcement was not what it seemed. Apple has placed strict restrictions on how consumers will be able to use the app. Apple customers who use Find My to locate a device will be barred from using other competing services simultaneously. The move is unusual, developers say.

Apple suppressed competitors in its App Store — until it got caught, a lawsuit alleges

An email app developer says it has uncovered new data that suggests Apple has long been suppressing the rankings of apps in the App Store that compete with Apple’s own offerings, according to new court filings by the developer, which sued Apple in October for patent infringement and antitrust violations. Blix, which developed the BlueMail app, made the discovery only when Apple’s rankings suddenly changed in its favor.

Apple preaches privacy. Lawmakers want the talk to turn to action.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook privately hosted six Democratic lawmakers at the company’s space-age headquarters spring 2019, he opened the conversation with a plea — for Congress to finally draft privacy legislation after years of federal inaction. But a number of privacy advocates and lawmakers say Apple has not put enough muscle behind any federal effort to tighten privacy laws.

DOJ weighs in on FTC’s case against Qualcomm

The Justice Department weighed in on a years-long legal battle between the Federal Trade Commission and Qualcomm, warning that the outcome in the case could hurt the ability of US companies to compete in 5G wireless technology. The Federal Trade Commission first sued Qualcomm in Jan 2017, claiming the maker of mobile phone technology violated antitrust rules in its licensing agreements with phone manufacturers. Qualcomm fought the charges at trial in Jan 2019, and US District Judge Lucy Koh has yet to make a ruling in the case.

Civil Liberties Groups, Tech Firms Back Facebook Against Manhattan DA

Facebookis finding supporters in a fight stemming from court-approved search warrants in 2013 that allowed law enforcement officials to review accounts belonging to users suspected of fraud.

An amicus brief by the New York Civil Liberties Union -- and supported by the American Civil Liberties Union -- argues that the search warrants never should have been approved by the court because they were too broad and “profoundly invasive.” Several technology companies also signed on to a brief in support of Facebook’s position, including Google, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter, Yelp, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Meetup and Tumblr.

Facebook Messenger Privacy Fears? Here’s What You Need to Know

The Internet has been simmering lately over privacy concerns surrounding Facebook’s Messenger app, which will soon become the only way mobile users can send and receive messages on the social network.

Some users were notified that they could no longer see or send messages unless they downloaded the app, and more users will get the same message in the weeks and months to come.

But amid the forced adoption of Messenger, some bloggers have cried foul over seemingly draconian permissions required for users of the Android version of the app. The bottom line is that, while some users might think it’s a drag to download a separate app for a feature that was once included in a single app, they’re not actually giving up a significant amount of additional privacy in the process.

WhatsApp Faces New Challenge

A security researcher says he has discovered a potential privacy glitch in text-messaging service WhatsApp that occurs when users switch phone numbers. Xuyang Li, founder of TrustGo Mobile, says that when he downloaded WhatsApp, he inherited the account information of a woman named Jessica, the previous owner of Li's phone number. Li's WhatsApp messages appeared to recipients to be messages from Jessica -- complete with a profile photo of Jessica wearing a red scarf.

WhatsApp was lauded for its simplicity when Facebook agreed to acquire it in February 2014 for $19 billion. New users register only their phone numbers, and don't create usernames or passwords. Li's incident highlights how that simplicity might work against WhatsApp in this case.