U.S. Senators Urge Apple to Reconsider Decision Not to Testify in Upcoming App Store Hearing

Apple has decided not to testify in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on antitrust issues related to mobile App Stores, and U.S. senators have called Apple's refusal "unacceptable," reports Reuters.

app store blue banner
In a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee urged Apple to reconsider the decision because a "full and fair examination" of competition issues requires Apple's participation.

The senators say that Apple has been aware of the upcoming April hearing for weeks and even held discussions with Senate staff members on who would testify on Apple's behalf, but then Apple "abruptly declared" that it would provide no witness to testify at all.

Apple is citing its upcoming trial against Epic Games as the reason for not providing a witness for the App Store hearing, but the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights is not happy with that excuse.

There is no specific date set for the hearing as of yet, but Google plans to participate. It will look at the power that Apple and Google have over the cost, distribution, and availability of mobile apps on iPhone and Android devices.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

WiseAJ Avatar
52 months ago
Just set the hearing after the Epic Games trial and maybe Apple will participate. They kinda busy right now taking out the trash.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
52 months ago
I would assume this stance was made on the advice of Apples' attorneys.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
52 months ago
I think I can appreciate Apples response as there might be implications forthcoming that would influence the Epic trial... but I’m not a legal expert and I would assume that Tim Cook will respond to the letter with clarification
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cosmosent Avatar
52 months ago
There is NO benefit to Apple participating.

And, there is NO real need for a Hearing.

ALL of the facts are known !

Congress just needs to move forward with the proposed New Laws !

BTW, "Public" Hearings with Congress participating are a known Waste of Time !

ALL most member of Congress want out of such Public Hearings is Ammo for their RE-election campaign TV commercials !

ONLY "Private" Hearings have ANY real chance of being productive !
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jav6454 Avatar
52 months ago
Waste of time, why not spend this time on something else? Like looking into why ISPs charge an arm and a leg for a half assed internet connection.

AT&T, Verizon, Comcrap and the likes have been milking the American people with their regional monopolies over network for years and I haven't seen on private hearing with tangible laws released. Yes, the FCC and its Net Neutrality helps, to an extent.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IG88 Avatar
52 months ago

What do you have to hide Apple?
Hearings like this are often full of political grandstanding, and can end up being mainly self serving for the politicians. There's no upside for Apple to participate.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)