#app-stores

#app-stores

For years, lawmakers at the state and federal levels have tried a variety of measures aimed at making kids safer on the internet, from kids-tailored design standards to age verification for individual websites. More recently, a new model has caught on in the states, and now it's gaining steam in Congress: putting the onus on app stores nationwide. The new approach to age verification orders mobile app stores to verify users' ages, then send that information to apps when users download them.

Just when we thought Epic v. Google might be over, just one Supreme Court rejection away from a complete victory for Epic, both sides have agreed to settle this evening. And if Judge James Donato, who ordered Google to crack open Android for third-party stores, agrees to the changes, it might turn Epic's victory into a lasting global one. Previously, Judge Donato agreed to some of Epic's biggest demands.

Among other findings, the CMA discovered that U.K. mobile device owners are unlikely to switch between Apple and Google's mobile platforms once they have adopted the ecosystem of their choice. It noted that both platforms require businesses to distribute apps through their app stores to reach consumers. Notably, it also said that new technologies, like AI, were "unlikely to eliminate Apple or Google's market power over the five-year designation period."

The way we download apps onto our phones could be about to change after a ruling from the UK's competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated the two tech giants as having "strategic market status" - effectively saying they have a lot of power over mobile platforms. This means Apple and Google may have to make changes, after the CMA said they "may be limiting innovation and competition".