Google, Apple list harmful consequences of anti-tech bills

San Francisco, Jan 19 (IANS) Google and Apple have expressed displeasure over an upcoming legislation in the US that would give more power to consumers and third-party developers.

While the American Choice and Innovation Online Act would prevent platforms like Amazon, Apple, and Google from using their dominance to hamper other companies and competitors that use their platforms, the Open App Markets Act aims to promote competition on app stores.

The US Senate Judiciary Committee is inching towards passing the legislation, which has been hailed by startups and smaller tech companies.

According to The Verge, Apple has criticised the legislation, particularly the Open App Markets Act, saying that it would be detrimental to the safety of the App Store.

Kent Walker, President Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of Google and Alphabet, said in a blog post that the legislation could break popular online services, making them less helpful and less secure, and damaging American competitiveness.

"These bills would impose one set of rules on American companies while giving a pass to foreign companies. And they would give the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies unprecedented power over the design of consumer products," he said on Tuesday.

"These bills could prevent us from securing our products by default, and would introduce new privacy risks for you," Walker added.

The bills would also harm small businesses if tools like Gmail, Calendar and Docs were not allowed to be integrated or work together seamlessly, he argued.

Like Apple, Google also charges developers a 15 to 30 per cent commission on apps and in-app purchases.