US senators have urged the DOJ to probe Apple’s alleged anti-competitive conduct against Beeper.

  • Jessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    33
    arrow-down
    17
    ·
    11 months ago

    I don’t get it. iMessage is Apple’s service. Why are they obliged to open it up for everyone to use? Would it be nice? Yes, of course. Should Apple be legally required to open up access to their service?

    • kpw@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      24
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      11 months ago

      Yes, they should be legally required to open up access to their service. No more walled gardens that hold a large number of users hostage.

      • squiblet@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Businesses are naturally anticompetitive. It may or may not violate antitrust law. The two main categories are collusion with competitors to prevent new competition, or if they seek to gain or maintain a monopoly via shady methods (just a monopoly itself isn’t illegal though). I doubt if Apple conspired with Google here and it would be a stretch to say they have a monopoly, so it seems like a pointless case to me.

    • holdthecheese@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      11 months ago

      You can argue that they’re unfairly using monopoly power. Same reason why MS was forced to allow windows to switch browsers.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      11 months ago

      I think the problem is that it’s unnecessarily hardware locked. They shouldn’t have to “open it up” insofar as anyone can access it from whatever app like beeper is doing. But it’s only fair that they support other operating systems. They can still control it or even charge a fee to access it from other OSes.

    • JoeCoT@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      11 months ago

      Because their practices are anti-competitive. School kids are getting bullied for using Android phones because they’re “green texters” in iMessage. But most importantly iMessage’s connection with SMS causes all interaction to be very low quality images and videos. And when people complain to Tim Apple about the experience, his only response is “Get your grandma an iPhone”. Our only saving grace is that the EU is requiring Apple to support RCS, which should solve these issues, except they’ll probably find some new way to be anti-competitive about it.

      • rizoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Apple should 100 percent support RCS and Tim’s “buy your grandma an iphone” response was stupid and does show that they don’t give a shit. However the Beeper situation is something different entirely, if the reports I’ve read are too be believed it was a security vulnerability or a blatant disregard of apples terms. Also the kids being bullied thing is very overblown, and almost certainly a regional thing. I live in buttfuck no where and I not one kid gives a shit they just want to talk to their friends. My kid has an android and his friend group is like 50/50 on iPhones. Its weird adults and parents who inadvertently say things or give their children the idea that green bubbles are bed. Kids don’t give a fuck unless they’ve learned it somewhere.

      • DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        School kids are getting bullied for using Android phones

        That’s a people problem, not a market-share problem. From experience, kids will always find something to bully others about — if it’s not the colour of the bubbles, it’s something else: the brand of shoes they wear, the suburb they live in, the sport they play (or don’t play). Bullies will do what they do.