The Techopoly Gatekeeping Public Policy

Apple and Google control more than 95% of the mobile software market. This means that 95% of smartphone users are beholden to either the Apple or Android app store. It's almost guaranteed that one of these two companies control what you can and cannot load onto the hardware that you paid a premium price to own. There's a lot of political and social power in being the sole decision maker for which mobile software is allowed to the public.

For example, both companies recently removed apps individuals were using to keep themselves safe from ICE. They caved to pressure from the US government with the justification that the apps were a danger to the vulnerable population of ICE agents. Shortly after, Google voluntarily removed the app from their own store.

This might not be a major issue if these companies allowed their users to load alternative app stores on their phones. If the software were available through alternative sources, neither Apple nor Google would have a responsibility to make the app available themselves. However, when they have a duopoly (a monopoly of two) on the market, removing applications becomes more akin to public policy than quality control.

In more hopful news, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and are being ignored, so now they're suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) for a response. So hopefully we'll at least know soon what specifically was said to Apple by the US government.

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) seeks records and communications reflecting federal officials’ demands that technology companies remove online apps and webpages that document immigration enforcement activities in communities throughout the country."

They claim they don't allow competing stores for the user's own good. If the Apple store is the only place you can get apps for your iPhone, you're guaranteed to get only the highest quality apps, keeping you safe and satisfied with your Apple device. However, they also demand a large percentage of the sale price for allowing the publisher to use their shop.

Developers can only sell through the official store, and the official store keeps a large percentage (30% or more) of their payment. In his new book, Enshittification, Cory Doctorow points out that this makes the app developers raise their prices to maintain a thin profit margin, which in turn allows Apple to raise the price of their own apps while still undercutting the competition who depends on them for their livelihoods.

Using their duopoly, Apple and Google work together to remove not only the agency of the developers who must depend on their stores, but also the agency of their users through the apps they decide to make available. In the example of the anti-ICE apps, iPhone users are denied the ability to load software they need and trust onto hardware they own.