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112 points thunderbong | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.726s | source
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blackeyeblitzar ◴[] No.42199597[source]
> Apple has argued the case against it is overly speculative and amounts to a “judicial redesign” of the iPhone. It’s sought to downplay its own influence, saying the government doesn’t allege a large enough smartphone market share to add up to monopoly power. It characterizes the third-party developers who claim they’ve been harmed as “well-capitalized social media companies, big banks, and global gaming developers.”

The word “monopoly” means different things in law and everyday use. To most people, Apple is a monopoly - it just means a company that is unjustifiably large and powerful and relatively immune to competition and pressure. We need to change the law to reflect this new reality, that anti trust isn’t just about monopolies but other large companies too.

The second bit, where they try to characterize developers abused by the App Store as powerful big capital is laughable. Even if they were, what are they next to Apple’s control over app distribution and their war chest of capital, which exceeds virtually all VC firms?

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2OEH8eoCRo0 ◴[] No.42203772[source]
> immune to competition and pressure

Correct. They abuse their customers without losing business. Why is that?

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AuryGlenz ◴[] No.42205924[source]
Maybe because their customers don’t feel abused in the slightest.
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2OEH8eoCRo0 ◴[] No.42206023[source]
Customers aren't just phone buyers, it's app developers, advertisers, etc.
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r00fus ◴[] No.42206775[source]
Technically those are suppliers, not customers.
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1. 2OEH8eoCRo0 ◴[] No.42206941[source]
How? They give Apple money.
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2. r00fus ◴[] No.42208664[source]
That pales in comparison to the payouts Apple does to its software suppliers. Just making payments to a company doesn't make you a "customer" in any real sense.
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3. 2OEH8eoCRo0 ◴[] No.42215581[source]
It's the definition:

> a person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business.

Is the money a donation? WTF are you talking about?