The U.S. Senate recently reintroducedOpen App Marketplace Act The Open App Markets Act (OAMA) once again targets the long-held monopoly of Apple and Google in the software market ecosystem. If passed, the bill would mandate the two major platforms to allow sideloading, third-party payment systems, and prohibit the use of algorithms to prioritize their own apps.
The Open App Marketplace Act was originally proposed by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar, Dick Durbin, and Mike Lee in 2021. Although it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2022, it ultimately did not enter the voting process.
The purpose behind this re-proposed proposal is to regulate the monopoly of the software market by the two major service platforms, Apple and Google, to prevent them from affecting fair competition in the market.
The new version of the "Open App Market Act" will regulate app marketplaces with more than 50000 monthly active users, potentially restricting the growth of Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store. The demands include allowing users to install apps through sideloading, rather than just downloading them through app marketplaces. It also requires open access to third-party payment systems, prohibiting the use of platform-owned payment mechanisms, and prohibiting platform operators from prioritizing their own apps in search results.
In addition, the Open App Market Act also claims to protect developers' pricing freedom, allowing developers to directly promote discount information provided by external platforms to users, avoiding platform monopoly of market price competition.
Prior to this, the European Union had already pushed for the Digital Markets Act starting in 2022, requiring Apple to adjust its App Store service policy and open up third-party payment options. Currently, Apple's App Store service in the United States is due to its dispute with Epic Games.Court proceedings, are required to open third-party payment systems and allow developers to promote discount information through channels other than the App Store.
If the Open App Market Act is passed successfully, it will change the structure of the US application distribution market and bring greater business freedom to developers. It will also change the software market ecosystem that has long been dominated by Apple and Google.
