Various sectors of U.S. government have called for a TikTok ban due to its ties to China. Now, Apple and Google’s inaction is being used against them.
TikTok is now being used as an argument against Apple and Google‘s control over the apps available on their platforms. The social media site has faced numerous calls for a ban in the United States, including from former president Donald Trump. Since TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is based in China, critics say the platform’s U.S. operations pose a national security threat. Like any social media company, TikTok collects a ton of data about its users, and politicians fear that information might be shared with the Chinese government for nefarious purposes.
Despite the potential concerns over TikTok’s presence in the U.S., it doesn’t seem like the social media platform is going anywhere in the near future. That’s in part due to Apple and Google’s decision to keep TikTok on their platforms. Apple’s App Store is the only way iPhone and iPad users can download apps on their devices, and the Google Play Store is the primary means for downloading apps on Android. Though it is possible to sideload Android apps without using the Play Store, the power and influence of both Apple and Google’s app marketplaces cannot be understated. As such, there has been talk about potential antitrust violations by these two companies.
Brendan Carr, the commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and an open critic of TikTok, is now suggesting that the app’s standing on the App Store and Play Store’s “gatekeeper” power. Carr’s view was expressed in a letter sent to Jonathan Kanter, the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust chief, on Dec. 2 and obtained by CNN. The commissioner has previously called for TikTok to be banned in the U.S., and has attempted to pressure Apple and Google to remove the app from their marketplaces. Now, Carr is saying that keeping TikTok on the App Store and Play Store discredits Apple and Google’s best argument for their exclusive app stores.
TikTok Disproves Apple & Google’s Antitrust Arguments
When faced with criticism, Apple and Google have both said that their unparalleled dominance in the app marketplace benefits users. As U.S. antitrust law and application currently stands, big tech faces less scrutiny when companies can prove that their large size and power creates a better user-experience for people. This was the logic employed when Facebook bought Whatsapp in 2014, and more recently during the T-Mobile/Sprint merger approval process between 2018 and 2020. In response to potential antitrust inquisitions, Apple and Google claim their deep integration with their operating system provides a more private and secure user experience.
However, Carr and the FCC claim that the companies’ insistence on keeping TikTok on their app stores discredits their antitrust argument. “Apple and Google are not exercising their ironclad control over apps for the altruistic or procompetitive purposes that they put forward as defenses to existing antitrust or competition claims,” Carr wrote in the letter obtained by CNN. “Instead, their conduct shows that those rationales are merely pretextual — talismanic references invoked to shield themselves from liability.” As Apple and Google face scrutiny for their practices by people inside and outside the federal government, TikTok looks to be a key factor in a potential antitrust review initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Source: CNN
