U.S. House Committee Asks Apple to Send Info About App Store Policies and More as Part of Antitrust Investigation

As part of a bipartisan investigation of competition in digital markets, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook requesting that the company provide any documents and executive communications related to its various policies for the App Store, product repairs, and more.

app store ios 13
The investigation seeks any internal documents or communication involving Apple executives, such as emails, for the following topics:

  • Apple's decision to remove from the ‌App Store‌ or to impose any restrictions on certain parental control apps, including Freedom, Kidslox, Mobicip, OurPact, and Qustodio

  • Apple's ‌App Store‌ algorithm for determining rankings in search results

  • Apple's policy related to the ‌App Store‌'s in-app purchase mechanism and its revenue split

  • Apple's policy regarding whether apps are permitted to include in-app links to non-Apple payment systems

  • Apple's policy regarding whether users can set non-Apple apps as default, such as web browsers and music, maps, and email apps

  • Apple's policy regarding whether to allow any third-party app store beyond the ‌App Store‌ on the iPhone

  • Apple's decision to "sherlock" any functionality from third-party apps, including any discussions about Clue, Duet Display, and SwiftKey

  • Apple's policy regarding whether third-party web browsers must use a specific rendering engine, such as WebKit

  • Apple's restrictions on third-party repairs

  • Apple's decision to offer discounted iPhone battery replacements throughout 2018, or the actual or projected effects of this decision, including any effect on ‌iPhone‌ sales

  • Apple's decision to introduce the Independent Repair Provider Program

  • Apple's agreement to sell products on Amazon and corresponding move to limit unauthorized resellers on Amazon

The Committee has requested that Apple respond no later than October 14, 2019 and also sent similar letters to Facebook, Amazon, and Google.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple's iPhone Driver's License Feature Now Available in 11 U.S. States

Tuesday September 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Apple recently revealed that the feature would soon be available in North Dakota, and starting today, the feature has officially gone...
iPhone 17e Feature 1

iPhone 17e: All the Rumors So Far

Thursday October 2, 2025 4:55 am PDT by
Earlier this year, Apple released the $599 iPhone 16e – a budget-friendly late addition to its iPhone 16 series and a replacement for its long-running entry-level iPhone SE line. Given the iPhone 17 lineup has now launched, can we expect an iPhone 17e anytime soon? If you're holding out for a more affordable device with the 17 moniker attached, here's everything we know so far about the...
iOS 26 Everything New Feature

26 Hidden iOS 26 Tricks to Change How You Use Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 9:16 am PDT by
Apple released iOS 26 in mid-September, bringing a range of new features and changes to iPhones across the globe. But not all of the included improvements have been showcased with Apple's typical fanfare, and many are likely to have been overlooked. Below, we've highlighted 26 lesser known additions and enhancements that could potentially change how you use your iPhone on a daily basis. Got...

Top Rated Comments

heov Avatar
79 months ago
Incoming "it's Apple's store they can do what they want" comments from uneducated people.

Quit comparing the Apple Store to other stores. On iPhones, the App Store is the ONLY store. Because of this, Apple can potentially be anti-competitive (potentially is key word there, not saying they are).

These probes are warranted. Whether Apple is violating antitrust laws or not is up to the regulators.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
az431 Avatar
79 months ago
Too bad they mailed it to the wrong address.

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/democrats.judiciary.house.gov/files/documents/Apple%20RFI%20-%20Signed.pdf
[doublepost=1568385884][/doublepost]
Incoming "it's Apple's store they can do what they want" comments from uneducated people.

Quit comparing the Apple Store to other stores. On iPhones, the App Store is the ONLY store. Because of this, Apple can potentially be anti-competitive (potentially is key word there, not saying they are).

These probes are warranted. Whether Apple is violating antitrust laws or not is up to the regulators.
Your definition of marketplace ("On iPhones, the App Store is the ONLY store") is contrary to antitrust law.

But whatever....
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hasanahmad Avatar
79 months ago
Incoming "it's Apple's store they can do what they want" comments from uneducated people.

Quit comparing the Apple Store to other stores. On iPhones, the App Store is the ONLY store. Because of this, Apple can potentially be anti-competitive (potentially is key word there, not saying they are).

These probes are warranted. Whether Apple is violating antitrust laws or not is up to the regulators.
Apple store is the only store because it gives me as a consumer, the confidence than more often than not, Apple will protect my data from apps whose intention is to gather data and share it with outside. I have the confidence that more often than not Apple will block any apps which has potential malicious intent and unsuspecting consumers might install that app if not for the app store and wind up in a situation similar to the one google had last week where 30 million android devices had malware infused app

The walled garden approach has been in play since 2007+. its been over 12 years now. every iPhone owner today is aware of its existence. Every ipHone owner has purchased the iPhone despite knowing it because they have accepted that this is the approach they feel will make their phone more often than not more secure than other vendors .
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
79 months ago
Man, can we file anti trust requests to our governments?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
simonmet Avatar
79 months ago
The games Apple promotes in the Today and Games views are nearly always freemium games with consumable IAPs. Funny that, hey!

Apple isn’t this bastion of the moral high ground.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuddyTronic Avatar
79 months ago
These are not "regulators" looking into Apple, it is Congressman Jerry Nadler, Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and the rest of the House Judiciary Committee. I don't know the backgrounds of all the members of the committee but I have my doubts about whether the committee leadership can even spell "Apple" let alone impartially evaluate their business model and the numerous trade offs between "walled gardens", app reviews, EULAs, etc. I would feel a little better if it really were "regulators" looking into this as they would be more likely to be knowledgeable about the technology and the market and they would likely be less partisan. Anyone who thinks the House Judiciary Committee is "bipartisan" hasn't been paying attention, it is probably the most partisan committee in the House.
Yes, that’s a big problem. These politicians really show their ignorance when you watch any coverage of them on TV. It’s very close to being silly sometimes.

If there are any good intentions in these probes, it is usually lost due to the ignorance of the politicians involved - I don’t care if they are Republican or Democrat.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)