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Conservative Letter DOJ - Apple

The letter supports the DOJ's recent antitrust lawsuit against Apple, arguing that Apple has engaged in anti-competitive behavior by leveraging its dominance in the mobile ecosystem. Specifically, the letter cites Apple discriminating against messaging apps like Beeper Mini, imposing excessive fees on developers, appeasing authoritarian regimes like China, and punishing ideological opponents. The writers believe the lawsuit is necessary to ensure Apple complies with antitrust laws and provide more choice and competition for consumers.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
3K views4 pages

Conservative Letter DOJ - Apple

The letter supports the DOJ's recent antitrust lawsuit against Apple, arguing that Apple has engaged in anti-competitive behavior by leveraging its dominance in the mobile ecosystem. Specifically, the letter cites Apple discriminating against messaging apps like Beeper Mini, imposing excessive fees on developers, appeasing authoritarian regimes like China, and punishing ideological opponents. The writers believe the lawsuit is necessary to ensure Apple complies with antitrust laws and provide more choice and competition for consumers.

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March 21, 2024

The Honorable Jonathan S. Kanter


Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Assistant Attorney General Kanter,

Today, the Department of Justice filed a suit against Apple to target its anti-competitive
behavior and prevent further monopolistic abuses in which it frequently engages. As a coalition
of libertarians and conservatives committed to freeing America’s innovation economy from the
grips of monopolistic actors, we write in support of the DOJ’s antitrust suit against Apple. We
believe that the DOJ’s action here can help level the playing field for small businesses, provide
consumers with real choice online, and safeguard American economic interests.

Of all the big tech companies, Apple has been the most egregious in exploiting its
dominance to hamper the free market, unfairly undermine competitors, and attack free
expression, all while advertising its support for privacy and, ironically, free expression.1 Apple
has built deep economic ties with the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP), leveraging
their closed ecosystem to facilitate the CCP’s human rights abuses.2 For years, conservatives
have sounded the alarm on Apple’s discrimination against rival platforms, including alternative
technology companies favored by many consumers.3 In 2019, the DOJ under President Trump
launched an antitrust probe into Apple’s anti-competitive conduct, which has only become more
egregious in the years that followed.4 Most recently, Republican Commissioner of the Federal
Communications Commission Brendan Carr called on this agency to look into Apple’s anti-
competitive behaviors and noted that it is the “single choke point” over the mobile ecosystem.5
1
https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/governance/
2
See, e.g., https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/29/apple-removes-vpn-apps-from-the-app-store-in-china/?guccounter=1
and https://www.fastcompany.com/90817341/why-is-apple-limiting-chinese-protesters-use-of-airdrop and
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html
3
The New York Times, "Amazon, Apple and Google Cut Off Parler, an App That Drew Trump Supporters,” Jack
Nicas and Davey Alba, January 9, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/technology/apple-google-parler.html
4
Bloomberg, "Apple to Face US Antitrust Lawsuit as Soon as March," Leah Nylen, January 17, 2024,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-17/justice-department-to-file-apple-antitrust-case-as-soon-as-
march
5
Hon. Brendan Carr, X Post, February 12, 2024,
https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1757145971295695226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetem
bed%7Ctwterm%5E1757145971295695226%7Ctwgr%5E761fa5f7abcd99dca5c6e65a6bc1f44570c53b67%7Ctwco
n%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F2%2F12%2F24071226%2Ffcc-
commissioner-brendan-carr-apple-beeper-mini.
Apple’s discrimination against messaging app Beeper Mini—an application that allowed
non-iOS users to access iMessage from Android phones—shows that the company is unwilling
to deviate from this behavior on its own accord.6 Though Apple has cynically weaponized “user
security” concerns to deflect from antitrust scrutiny,7 the company’s treatment of Beeper Mini
exposes this line of defense as a farce. In December 2023, Apple delisted Beeper Mini from the
App Store. The controversy surrounding iMessage-only “blue-bubbles” versus “green-bubbles”
from non-Apple devices is not an aesthetic issue: as it stands, “green-bubble” messages are not
afforded encryption like texts sent through iMessage are. Beeper Mini aimed to extend that
security to Android users to ensure that all consumers’ messages were protected from unwanted
peering eyes. Leveraging control of the App Store to destroy a company that aimed to give more
choices to mobile phone users is a clear-cut monopolistic abuse.

Apple’s App Store policies have long harmed both digital competition and the expression
of free speech. The company has long imposed exorbitant 30% commission fees on large app
developers, and even amid scrutiny has only been willing to reduce the ‘Apple tax’ to 27% in
specific circumstances.8 Apple continues to restrict developers’ ability to provide their own
payment options, with app developers looking to do so required to apply for an “entitlement,”
which still requires them to list Apple’s in-house payment option on their app. This business
model clearly undermines fair competition because iOS users are not permitted to download
alternative app stores—thus effectively forcing app developers to sell on the App Store.

Apple has leveraged this monopolistic market position to punish ideological dissidents,
including through the delisting of alternative technology platforms like Parler.9 But while Apple
has long discarded the concerns of American app developers, the company has been happy to
modify its App Store policies to appease the CCP regime.10 Last year, it was reported that Apple
would acquiesce to China’s demands for apps on the App Store to list their Beijing-designated
Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing number. In doing so, Apple closed one of Chinese

6
Washington Examiner, "Lawmakers ask DOJ to probe Apple’s blocking of Android app allowing blue bubbles,"
Christopher Hutton, December 18, 2023, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2601638/lawmakers-ask-doj-
to-probe-apples-blocking-of-android-app-allowing-blue-bubbles/
7
CNBC, "Apple says antitrust bills could cause ‘millions of Americans’ to suffer malware attacks," Lauren Feiner
and Kif Leswing, January 18, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/apple-says-antitrust-bills-increase-risk-of-
iphone-security-breaches.html
8
Forbes, "Developers Blast Apple’s 27% Fee On External Payments: ‘Bad Faith Compliance’," Siladitya Ray,
January 17, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/01/17/apples-decision-to-charge-27-
commission-on-external-payments-draws-criticism/
9
CNN, "Tim Cook: Why I kicked Parler off Apple’s App Store," David Goldman, January 18, 2021,
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/17/tech/tim-cook-apple-parler/index.html
10
AppleInsider, “Apple bows to China, starts enforcing App Store rules,” William Gallagher, October 3, 2023,
https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/10/03/apple-bows-to-china-starts-enforcing-app-store-rules
citizens’ only avenues to access, through VPN, apps banned by the Communist regime.11 It’s
worth noting that this came just three years after Apple removed some 39,000 apps on the App
Store in China in a single day to appease the government.12 Worse yet, Apple’s links to the CCP
further endangered its users when it entertained the PLA-linked semiconductor manufacturer
YMTC to produce memory chips for the iPhone.13 This only scrapes the surface of Apple’s
advocacy on behalf of Beijing: in 2020, the company tried to wield its lobbying might in D.C. to
weaken legislation to stop forced labor in the Xinjiang region.14

Enough is enough!

With all of these considerations, we find that the DOJ’s action in filing an antitrust
lawsuit against Apple is appropriate and necessary to ensure the company complies with federal
law. Apple has proven unwilling to make changes to its monopolistic business model in good
faith, and competitors and consumers alike continue to pay the price. As Apple works to expand
its monopoly into sectors like virtual reality (VR),15 artificial intelligence (AI),16 and the auto
industry,17 holding the company accountable for its malfeasance is more important than ever.
This is especially true when the company is contemplating allowing Google’s Gemini—
Google’s primary competitor in AI and the app store market—to power the iPhone’s AI
features.18

For these reasons, we applaud the DOJ’s suit to rein in Apple’s anti-competitive
behaviors and deny its attempt to concentrate the mobile ecosystem further.

11
The Verge, “Apple is locking down the iPhone App Store to comply with a new law in China,” October 3, 2023,
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/3/23901205/apple-app-store-government-license-china
12
Forbes, "Why Hundreds Of Thousands Of Apps May Be Purged From the iOS App Store In China," John
Koetsier, October 4, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2023/10/04/why-hundreds-of-thousands-of-
apps-may-be-purged-from-the-ios-app-store-in-china/
13
LightReading, “Chinese Chip Maker Courted by Apple Faces Risk of US Sanctions,” Iain Morris, April 27, 2022,
https://www.lightreading.com/business-management/chinese-chipmaker-courted-by-apple-faces-risk-of-us-
sanctions.
14
Washington Post, "Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China," Reed Albergotti,
November 20, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/20/apple-uighur/
15
The Wall Street Journal, "Can Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro Headset Win Over Wary Consumers?," Aaron Tilley,
January 30, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-vision-pro-release-market-b3a6aa25
16
CNBC, “Tim Cook teases Apple AI announcement ‘later this year’," Kif Leswing, February 1, 2024,
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/tim-cook-teases-apple-ai-announcement-later-this-year.html
17
Washington Post, "Apple has quietly tripled its testing of autonomous cars, records show," Trisha Thadani and
Emmanuel Martinez, February 6, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/06/apple-car-self-
driving/
18
Bloomberg, “Apple Is in Talks to Let Google Gemini Power iPhone AI Features,” Mark Gurman. March 18,
2024, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-18/apple-in-talks-to-license-google-gemini-for-iphone-
ios-18-generative-ai-tools?embedded-checkout=true.
Sincerely,

___
Roslyn Layton Ryan Williams
Co-Founder President
China Tech Threat Claremont Institute

The Digital First Project Adam Candueb


Senior Fellow
Center for Renewing America

Ziven Havens Zach Graves


Policy Director Executive Director
Bull Moose Project Foundation for American Innovation

Mike Davis Mark A. DiPlacido


President & Founder Policy Advisor
Internet Accountability Project American Compass

Rachel Bovard Geoffrey Cain


In Her Personal Capacity Policy Director
Tech Integrity Project

Matthew Peterson Julius Krein


Editor-in-Chief Editor
Blaze Media American Affairs

Clare Morell Mark Meador


Senior Policy Analyst Visiting Fellow
Ethics & Public Policy Center The Heritage Foundation

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