WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said in a new report Wednesday that the current mobile app store model is harmful to consumers and developers, and recommended policy changes to fix it. Mobile apps have become an essential tool for participation in much of daily life. Two companies – Apple and Google – act as gatekeepers over the apps that people and businesses rely on, NTIA found in its “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” report. The companies’ policies have the potential to harm consumers by inflating prices and reducing innovation. While the current app store policies do offer some benefits to consumers, including the potential for tighter security controls, the report found that the costs far outweigh the benefits and that privacy and security protections can still be achieved in a more competitive environment. The report recommends several changes to improve the app ecosystem for users, including: * Consumers should have more control over their devices. They should be able to choose their own apps as defaults, use alternative mobile app stores, and delete or hide pre-installed apps. * App store operators should not be able to “self-preference” their apps in an anticompetitive manner. Operators should not be able to favor their own apps in how they appear in search results or discriminate against other apps that are similar to their own. * Operators should lift restrictions on alternative ways for consumers to download and install apps. While still preserving appropriate latitude for privacy and security safeguards, legislative and regulatory measures should prohibit restrictions on sideloading, alternative app stores and web apps. * Addressing limits on in-app purchasing options. This can be done by banning requirements that developers use the app store operators’ in-app payment system. (2023) source Unverified