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App Store bill passed by US Senate Judiciary Committee

The US Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the Open App Markets Act, proposed legislation which would force Apple and Google to relinquish full control of their app stores, by 20 votes to two.

App Store bill passed by US Senate Judiciary Committee

Only Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina opposed the bill.

If the bill is passed by the Senate then Apple and Google, who are opposed to the bill, will have to relinquish control over their app stores and they may have to allow alternative payment-processing systems.

Tech companies such as Apple and Google and Senator Cornyn are concerned the bill will increase security risks and cause privacy issues, but these concerns were dismissed by senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)

Blumenthal said tech companies “own the rails” comparing them to the railway monopolies of the past. “Gatekeeper dominance allows them to dictate the terms of the market.”

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