Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, announced that she is the Democratic co-lead of the App Store Freedom Act, bipartisan legislation that will increase consumer choice and foster a more competitive mobile app marketplace by curbing anticompetitive behavior from dominant app store operators.

“For too long, a handful of dominant app store operators have used their outsized power to limit consumer choice, undercut developers, and stifle innovation. The App Store Freedom Act puts an end to those anticompetitive tactics by restoring fairness and transparency to the mobile app marketplace,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This bipartisan legislation ensures that developers can compete on a level playing field and that consumers – not corporations – get to decide which apps and services work best for them.”

The bill applies to app stores with more than 100 million U.S. users and requires them to:

• Allow users to install and set third-party app stores or apps as defaults.

• Enable sideloading of apps from outside the dominant platform.

• Give users the ability to delete or hide pre-installed apps.

• Provide developers with equal, non-discriminatory access to essential APIs, features, and tools free of charge.

These provisions aim to create a level playing field for app developers while restoring control and choice to consumers.

“We must continue to hold Big Tech accountable and promote competition that allows all players to enter the field. For too long, consumers and developers have borne the brunt of anti-competitive practices on major app store marketplaces,” said Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), the Republican co-lead. “Dominant app stores have controlled customer data and forced consumers to use the marketplaces' own merchant services, instead of the native, in-app offerings provided by the applications and developers themselves. The results are higher prices and limited selections for consumers and anti-competitive practices for developers that have stifled innovation.”

The bill also cracks down on restrictive policies that limit developer autonomy. It would bar app stores from forcing developers to adopt proprietary in-app payment systems, enforce pricing parity requirements, or penalize developers for offering their apps through alternative channels.

“CAF applauds Rep. Trahan for joining Rep. Cammack in co-sponsoring the App Store Freedom Act. The bipartisan support for this legislation speaks to a clear consensus: Apple and Google’s mobile walled gardens must be reformed. The bill takes a commonsense and targeted approach to ensuring consumer choice, competition, and opens the door for alternative app marketplaces. We urge Rep. Cammack and Trahan’s colleagues to join them in supporting the App Store Freedom Act,” said Gene Burrus, Global Policy Counsel for The Coalition for App Fairness.

“I commend Rep. Trahan for joining Rep. Cammack in co-sponsoring the App Store Freedom Act, which would rein in Apple and Google's gatekeeper power over the mobile app economy. This bipartisan support in the House reflects growing momentum for app store reforms that will help put an end to anti-competitive practices that have raised costs and stifled innovative offerings. Critically, the bill would also enable new app stores that cater to the specific needs of parents and children,” said Evan Swarztrauber, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

“A competitive app market is essential to ensuring that developers can reach users on fair terms, innovate freely, and compete on quality. It means better options for users and better outcomes for creators. Platforms should be gateways to consumer choice – not gatekeepers,” said Elise Phillips, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge.

“Dominant app stores act as gatekeepers building digital walls rigged with fees and surveillance tools to extract more money from consumers and crush competition. The App Store Freedom Act tears down those walls by providing freedom of choice and fair access. Rep. Trahan’s bill works to break the stranglehold that Big Tech has on the app economy by putting consumer choice over platform profits,” said J.B. Branch, Big Tech Accountability Advocate at Public Citizen.

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