Apple is going to need to compromise on the app store fees

Based on what would it continue? Just because it is? The entire pantheon of powers is saying no more…the reason they are saying no more is because it is.

The players are seeing it differently now.

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The “that” in my sentence referred to the criticism of Apple’s policies. That criticism isn’t anything new. It’s not going to stop. It’s likely to continue.

Whether any action is taken against Apple is a different story. But it’s hard to see Musk or Twitter having any material impact on that.

Despite your claim that the entire pantheon of powers is “saying no more,” legislation to address the Apple/Google duopoly (specifically the Open App Marketplace Act) has been bottled up in the House and Senate. And it’s primarily being blocked by Democratic leadership. Neither Schumer nor Pelosi has been willing to bring it to a floor vote. Most likely that’s because Congresscritters from California don’t want to vote for it. If it doesn’t pass in the lame duck, supporters don’t believe it will pass in the next Congress.

Twitter’s too small to matter in that debate. There’s already massive forces arrayed to push for adoption - Twitter has neither the market share nor the resources relative to those already in the fight to affect the outcome. And since the obstacle to passage is almost certainly Democrats, not Republicans, having Musk do some public complaining about Apple isn’t likely to help either.

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Agreed but that was a matter for the Democrats in the house not the two California senators.

The deck has been reshuffled.

That is one thing I love. If the US does not get it down now, things get reorganized and some things that are wanted get done.

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It also includes the Senators. Feinstein and Padilla voted to advance the bills when it was in committee, but criticized them as well. They’re not necessarily willing to vote for them without changes.

And the two chambers don’t act in isolation. Of Democrats in the House, 42 are from California - nearly 20% of the entire caucus. Pelosi may not have the votes to get the bills out of the House, and Schumer isn’t going to want to spend political capital in the lame duck on a bill that can’t pass the other chamber.

The “reshuffling” almost certainly dooms these bills in the next congress. Certainly it significantly reduces the chances of anything happening. McCarthy is one of the biggest opponents of the measures - he’d never let either come to a floor vote. Though his ascension to the Speakership is uncertain, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is another of the biggest opponents of the bills. And he’s certain to take over as Chair of the Judiciary Committee - and Zoe Lofgren, the #2 ranking Democrat on Judiciary, is also an opponent of the bills. Which means that even if McCarthy doesn’t become Speaker, the bills are still likely dead in the water in the next Congress.

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I’m starting to think Musk is waging a war against Dems, possibly in retaliation for the EV snub by the White House, mostly due to the exclusion of union work force.

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Al,

Stop only reading or thinking about your own words. It trips you up endlessly.

Pelosi? I am speaking after January 2023. Why would you be discussing Pelosi? She is a non issue.

You are following the past quite well but not into the future.

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I’m following quite well both the present and the future.

I’m talking about Pelosi because any effort to regulate Apple will have to be adopted during the current Congress, in the upcoming lame duck session. There are several bills pending that could be approved. But they won’t hit the floor for a vote unless Pelosi signs off. She hasn’t yet committed to doing so, and a number of her California colleagues may not want her to.

But I’ve also talked about the future. As I mentioned, the new GOP leadership in the House is going to keep any legislation hitting Apple/Google from passing. Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan are strongly opposed to them.

Once the new Congress is seated in early January, all of the existing Apple/Google bills will die (bills don’t carry over from one Congress to the other) - which means they have to start over again in committee. Which also means that either McCarthy or Jordan can kill them just by preventing a vote in committee. So even though McCarthy’s role isn’t entirely certain, we know for a fact that Jordan will replace Nadler as chair of the Judiciary Committee.

That means that unless one of these bills passes in the next six weeks, nothing’s happening for the next two years. Long enough away for Apple not to really care about the mewlings of an annoyed Elon Musk.

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I don’t think the “union” part ended up in the bill that was passed. Instead they inserted some weasel words about “prevailing wages”.

You are doing it again. You are assuming you know what is going on from the past.

You are simply wrong. I get you never make a mistake, or get things wrong or admit when anything of sort happens.

There are two issues here. One Apple might boot Twitter over conservative speech. Two Musk and a host of others are not interested at all in paying 30% to Apple. Both things are going hand in hand down the church wedding aisle.

Mark,

This is the snub.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-29/biden-s-buy-america-dream-relies-on-buying-evs-that-no-one-makes

Biden’s Buy-America Dream Relies on Buying EVs That No One Makes

  • He wants government to buy electric cars made by union workers

  • The U.S. government owns or leases about 645,000 vehicles

Musk “creates” his first win against Apple and is moving on the second win.

Those for freedom of speech on the right wont trust the first win will stick. Why should they? So they will want the second win lower Apple rates than 30%.

What was “wanted” on Jan 29, 2021 is different than what was signed into law by President Biden on Aug 16, 2022. That is ALWAYS the case, laws evolve as they go back and forth between both houses of Congress. For someone who constantly talks about the IRA law, it appears that you haven’t even read it yet! The word “union” or “collective bargaining” doesn’t appear anywhere in it. That’s most likely because it wouldn’t have passed, or some other items would have had to be negotiated, in order to get it passed into law.

You can find it here if you are interested - https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376/text

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This is so ridiculous an assertion that it is laughable. Right now, and for the past few years, you can find FAR more conservative speech apps in the Apple app store. Ones like Parler, 2nd1st, epoch times, etc.

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It appears that Musk has folded like a wet blanket.

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So, Elon flat out lied about Apple. They never considered removing Twitter from the App Store, Surprise! This is what Elon meant all along about “protecting free speech” people! Elon hates being accountable for his words. I’m going to say something many hear will find offended: conservative voices have never been censored because they are conservative. If they have been “censored”, it is because they have said vile and dangerous things, not because they are conservative.

I stopped trusting Elon a long time ago. When is the fracking Robo Taxi???

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True enough. But the EU may consider removing it from their geography. Perhaps that would get his attention.

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Except you haven’t demonstrated that they have any chance of passing in a GOP-led House.

Oh, sure - there are Republicans that enjoy taking shots at Apple and Google, and would vote for these two measures. But as I’ve pointed out - repeatedly - the future chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is vigorously opposed to the bills. Jim Jordan doesn’t just oppose this bill - he went all out to try to torpedo Biden’s selection of Lina Khan at the FTC, and is adamantly against expanding the DOJ’s antitrust portfolio by even a smidge.

Because Jordan can (and will) block the bill, it can’t pass in the new Congress. It doesn’t matter if the issue gains a little traction among some Republicans who seize on anti-tech sentiment as a populist issue. With both Jordan and McCarthy against these measures, they can’t pass next Congress.

And again, Musk and Twitter are nearly irrelevant to this. Especially now that Musk has been caught out as being utterly mistaken about Apple having plans to boot Twitter. That’s not a “first win” for Musk - he didn’t change Apple’s mind. He just got it wrong (or made it up). That’s not likely to win him any influence on these issues going forward.

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It doesn’t have a chance in pretty much ANY house. Remember, these are very large companies, and with a few strategic campaign contributions, they can quash, or slow down almost interminably, this kind of legislation.

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True. After all, there’s a reason why the two bills (which have already passed committee) have failed to get a scheduled for a floor vote in either Chamber despite having ostensible bi-partisan support.

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Mark,

That’s great but not at all trusted by the right. The point is until 1987 all the lies by the right were illegal on the nightly news. The right has longer memories of not being able to spout an endless stream of lies. You have completely missed the point.

The left is getting more powerful again. The next generations do not want the endless lying. There is open talk of outlawing or stifling liars. Where does that leave them? Oh the horrors not be able to easily lie in public. What would suckers do? Hear the truth? OMG