Lobbying has increased over possible new regulations to stop Apple ‘s anti-competitive practices .
Apple is worth $2.51 trillion (yes, trillion trillion) on the stock market, but remains wary of potential US regulations .
Questions about Apple , mainly due to a possible dominant position with its closed ecosystem, have caused the company to react proactively and hire more lobbyists than ever.
Apple buys the influence
According to Bloomberg , Tim Cook has become one of the most active CEOs in politics in recent years.
Apple ‘s CEO has seen the company hire several well-connected former US congressional aides .
In the first half of this year, Apple spent $4.6 million to gain influence in Washington, $1.5 million more than in the same period in 2020.
What does Apple want to avoid?
In recent years, there has been a greater provision of legislation that regulates large technology companies and obviously Apple is not free.
The US Senate is expected to vote before August on legislation to prevent tech giants from using their platforms to undermine competition.
This is very relevant to Apple and the control it has over its App Store . iPhones and iPads can’t install apps outside of the company’s repository . While this ensures a more secure experience, it puts Apple in a dominant position .
Apple reported revenue of $191 billion in 2021 on the iPhone alone , but its services segment is becoming increasingly important, with $68 billion in revenue in the same year.
Apple imposes a 30% commission on purchases in its App Store , although it has implemented a 15% cut for “small businesses” that make less than US $ 1 million a year.
Apple vs. Epic Games: the previous battle
In 2021, Epic Games ‘ lawsuit against Apple over how the App Store is run was settled in a battle that included the removal of Fortnite from the repository.
Although Apple was cleared of most of the charges, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of California pointed out that it did incur in anticompetitive practices by not allowing developers to link other means of payment (other than the App Store) in their apps.