4 ms·

Competitive? It is an oligopoly with tacit collusion on price fixing. This is the exact reason why anti-trust legislation exists. A competitive market would

Competitive? It is an oligopoly with tacit collusion on price fixing. This is the exact reason why anti-trust legislation exists. A competitive market would be one in which the platform providers were forced to divest from the app markets, and support competing app markets which meet requirements, and which actively compete on features and price. If cars only supported gasoline from manufacturer gas stations, and 95% of the market was controlled by cars from GM and Ford, and once you bought a GM car you could only buy gasoline from a GM gas station, would you call the gasoline market competitive? To extend the metaphor, let's say it was technically possible to use third-party gas stations, but the manufacturers had hidden this ability, and it required a small amount of mechanical knowledge to enable, and maybe voided your warranty, would you then consider the market competitive?

briandear 6y ago
Can you prove price fixing? Or collusion? If you want to make the claim, then let’s see the proof.
- jlmorton 6y ago
  You don't have to prove active collusion. Tacit price fixing is still anti-competitive behavior.
- alias_neo 6y ago
  What options are there? Google Play, Apple App Store. How much do they take? 30% and 30%. Is there an option where they take less than 30% or where someone can compete on that cut? No. Is there a different store you can use with the same privileges as these two stores? No. Can you take your payments outside of the store and manage payment fees yourself so as to not give them 30%? No.
  - noisem4ker 6y ago
    I doubt it's news to you, but Android openly allows app stores other than Google's.
    - alias_neo 6y ago
      It's does, but between Google's certification process putting restrictions on device manufacturers and the fact that usually those alternative app stores can't be installed from Google Play, asking side the untrusted sources scare tactic against users, and Google Play protect so closely integrated in the OS now, theyre not really viable market places. At best I guess we could say Google has a carrot approach where Apple prefers the stick.
PostThisTooFast 6y ago
" once you bought a GM car you could only buy gasoline from a GM gas station" On a related note: This kind of scam was the reason for the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Carmakers actually attempted this kind of crap, claiming that your warranty would be "void" if you didn't use special Ford oil or Chevy tires. The great thing is that the law extends to all products, so all of those stickers saying "warranty void if removed" are bullshit. You can modify the devices you own, and if the manufacturer wants to deny you warranty service, it has to prove that your modification caused the problem that you're seeking service for.

briandear 6y ago

Can you prove price fixing? Or collusion? If you want to make the claim, then let’s see the proof.

jlmorton 6y ago
You don't have to prove active collusion. Tacit price fixing is still anti-competitive behavior.
alias_neo 6y ago
What options are there? Google Play, Apple App Store. How much do they take? 30% and 30%. Is there an option where they take less than 30% or where someone can compete on that cut? No. Is there a different store you can use with the same privileges as these two stores? No. Can you take your payments outside of the store and manage payment fees yourself so as to not give them 30%? No.
- noisem4ker 6y ago
  I doubt it's news to you, but Android openly allows app stores other than Google's.
  - alias_neo 6y ago
    It's does, but between Google's certification process putting restrictions on device manufacturers and the fact that usually those alternative app stores can't be installed from Google Play, asking side the untrusted sources scare tactic against users, and Google Play protect so closely integrated in the OS now, theyre not really viable market places. At best I guess we could say Google has a carrot approach where Apple prefers the stick.

PostThisTooFast 6y ago

" once you bought a GM car you could only buy gasoline from a GM gas station" On a related note: This kind of scam was the reason for the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Carmakers actually attempted this kind of crap, claiming that your warranty would be "void" if you didn't use special Ford oil or Chevy tires. The great thing is that the law extends to all products, so all of those stickers saying "warranty void if removed" are bullshit. You can modify the devices you own, and if the manufacturer wants to deny you warranty service, it has to prove that your modification caused the problem that you're seeking service for.