Senators Introduce Bipartisan Antitrust Bill to Promote App Store Competition

Sens Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan Open App Markets Act. The Open App Markets Act would:

• Protect developers’ rights to tell consumers about lower prices and offer competitive pricing;
• Protect sideloading of apps;
• Promote competition by opening the market to third-party app stores, startup apps, and alternative payment systems;
• Make it possible for developers to offer new experiences that take advantage of consumer device features;
• Give consumers greater control over their devices;
• Prevent app stores from disadvantaging developers; and
• Establish safeguards to preserve consumer privacy, security, and safety.