Apple's App Store Practices Have Developers Cheering Antitrust Suit: Analyst

The first reaction of many in the tech world to the government's antitrust complaint against Apple (see 2403210042) was "finally," Stratechery's Ben Thompson blogged Monday. Apple's App Store is the root of tech frustration with the company, as it's "the ultimate example of Apple leveraging consumers’ desire for their products to gain power over an ecosystem" of app developers, he said. Thompson said app developer discontent has been building against Apple policies. If Apple had removed its anti-steering provision that didn't allow apps to link to its website or tell users about subscriptions or purchasing content outside the app, the company "wouldn’t be in a position of having to defend what actually makes Apple Apple," he said: "It would, at a minimum, have a lot more people on its side."