The Developers Alliance is deeply disappointed with the conclusions of the “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” report published by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Washington, D.C. February 1, 2023 – The Developers Alliance has released the following statement addressing NTIA’s app report. The report’s conclusions are inconsistent with free markets and fair competition..
Key Facts
- Google and Apple have built, funded, and effectively managed complex ecosystems that underlie and enable the app economy that supports millions of developers and creates tremendous social value at an incredibly low cost.
- Nationalization through regulation is a short sighted solution to a non-existent problem. Mobile ecosystems are not social constructs. There are no barriers beyond money and effort preventing additional mobile ecosystems from emerging.
- Government policy that conscripts ecosystem owners to manage their platforms to meet social objectives while also stripping them of the tools they need to accomplish the task is unproductive.
The following quote can be attributed to Bruce Gustafson, CEO of the Alliance:
“The mobile app economy is a complex system that manages to balance the conflicting objectives of a wide range of participants. Millions of advertisers, developers, consumers, retail owners, media and entertainment companies, and businesses rely on the stability and controls they’ve helped these platforms develop. To make the system work for everybody, everybody has had to accept some of the burden: no one gets everything they want, or the tragedy of the commons takes over. Apple and Google are not government entities, and mobile phones are not a social service. These ecosystems already balance privacy, security, value flows and consumer benefits. A handful of self-interested commentators cannot negate the evidence that millions of developers have been successfully engaged with these platforms for over a decade.
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About The Developers Alliance
The Developers Alliance is the world’s leading advocate for software developers and the companies invested in their success. Alliance members include industry leaders in consumer, enterprise, industrial, and emerging software development, and a global network of more than 75,000 developers.
Press Contact
Heather Coull
Head of Marketing and Communications
617-688-0440
heather@developersalliance.org
