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Spotify CEO Pushes Congress To Take Up Antitrust Bill

By  |  April 19, 2023

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is advocating for Congress to implement an antitrust bill that would limit the sway of dominant app companies, reported the Hill. The CEO and founder of an audio streaming app is scheduled to meet with important members of Congress and the Biden administration on Wednesday and Thursday to advocate for legislation and renew support for the proposal. This marks his first visit to D.C. for this purpose.

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    “Left unchecked, any company doing business through an app store lives and dies at the mercy of whomever is the gatekeeper at the time,” Ek said in a blog post published Wednesday.

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    Read more: The European Commission’s Investigation Into Music Streaming: Why Spotify Has Good Reasons To Be Impatient

    “It’s like leasing retail space from one of the few landlords in town who can charge a huge rent, change any term of the lease at any moment’s notice, place its own competing store right next to yours, and then prohibit you from sharing any promotional signs or advertisements that may reveal cheaper prices to customers or any benefits that would enhance their experience in any other location,” he added.

    Ek is advocating for the passage of the Open App Markets Act in Congress, which made progress in the Senate and House Judiciary committees during the previous Congress but was not voted on.

    The proposed bill seeks to regulate dominant app stores, specifically those operated by Apple and Google. This includes restricting fees for certain in-app purchases and mandating that apps only use one app store on their operating systems.