Attorney General Eric Holder has asked a federal judge to give his Department of Justice (DOJ) supervision of the Apple App Store and iTunes.
The DOJ’s demand is a disgusting attempted government power-grab into private business.
Holder’s request follows a decision by Denise Cote, a New York Federal District Judge. Cote ruled that Apple violates the US Anti-Trust Laws, which are designed to prevent monopolies and fixed prices.
Apple plans to fight the federal ruling tooth and nail, and will almost certainly appeal.
The mega company currently gets 30 percent commission for any e-books sold on an Apple Store App. According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ is pushing for Amazon.com to be able to sell e-books on Apple Apps without the 30 percent commission.
Apple objects to government attempting to control the marketplace. Commission on App stores currently makes up for 10 percent of the company’s revenue. It would be a huge blow to Apple if Holder’s request is granted.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the DOJ is also “seeking a five-year prohibition on new e-book distribution contracts that would restrain Apple from competing on price.”
Good grief. Government has no place sticking its nose into the private marketplace. But it continues to do so, over and over, each time expecting better results. (Solyndra, anyone?)
Apple is an innovative, highly successful American business. The company provides thousands of jobs for citizens at a time when unemployment remains high.
Still, the DOJ insists that the company be restrained. Eric Holder, in all his wisdom, asserts that he is trying to protect customers from high prices and mega corporations.
But after further examination, the request seems a bit more partisan in nature.
Amazon.com gave over $100,000 to Obama’s presidential campaigns and donated thousands in equipment during his inaugurations.
But that’s just a coincidence… Right?
http://benswann.com/eric-holder-demands-government-supervision-of-apples-itunes-app-stores/
Holder: “Yo bitchezzz you better give me your shit. I gave guns away to drug cartels… And I got away with it. I can do anything I want you Mo Fo’s. You can’t stop me…I’ll take your shit!”
As a programmer and app developer, I must first say that developing for the App Store is a royal pain in the ass. So many hoops to jump through, costly developer account, single point of distribution, adding testers sucks, the approval process can be daunting and anything you develop for iOS has to go through x-code as the final destination in the coding process. Yet, with all the crap you have to deal with and as much as I think Apple really has developers locked in a box, the government has no business butting in.
The issues with the App Store will get sorted out in the market. If developers like myself start getting sick of the Apple crap, we won’t develop anymore. If people don’t want to pay higher prices, they won’t. Apple will either loosen up it’s model a little or suffer losses. This is how the marketplace works and the government shouldn’t have shit to do with it.
What’s really going on here is the government wants very much to do to Apple what it has done to Microsoft. Back in the 90s Microsoft was hammered through the courts under anti-trust laws. If you remember, the case ended with an agreement between the US corp and Microsoft. You do know that part of that deal was to provide encryption break codes, backdoor access and built-in exploits for government malware injection, don’t you?
Well, if you don’t know, then maybe the fact that Facetime uses point-to-point encryption outside of Apple’s control might interest you. It may also interest you that iOS isn’t full off all the government holes like the NSA developed and CIA owned Google / Keyhole satellite system of an OS that Android is. Sure, iOS has it’s own problems and isn’t perfect. Yet, for all the shortcomings of Apple, App Store and iOS, you’re a far cry better off using it where privacy is concerned. This is probably why the government is making a play on Apple.
I hope this sheds a little light on what’s really going on here. I develop on both sides of this equation and can tell you from experience that Android is easier to develop for, wide open on distribution, testing is a cakewalk and all this convenience is your trade-off for dealing with a bugged up mobile OS that is totally government controlled. With Android, your every move is logged, calls recorded, activity reported and devices remotely activated. With iOS, not so much.
I hate apple anyway, but apparently they didn’t give Holder the bribe he demanded.
The photo of him dressed as a pimp in the other article looked much more true to life.
I can think of a necktie that would suit him far better than the one he’s wearing in the above photo.
Agree #1, pimp suit def fit him better!
And I have to say, you have impeccable taste in “appropriate” neckties, couldn’t agree with you more there!
🙂
I just have to say that Holder needs a hobby, bigtime!
He already has a hobby.
Gunrunning