Apple and Google have “crushed” a California bill that would force them to stop favoring their own apps in their app stores, reports Bloomberg (a subscription is required to read the article).
Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA) introduced SB 1074, known as the Blocking Anticompetitive Self-preferencing by Entrenched Dominant platforms (BASED) Act, in March to prohibit large digital platforms from favoring their own products. Supported by “little tech” like Y Combinator, the bill aimed to curb self-preferencing in app stores, but has failed.
The bill was formed by a group of small companies backed by startup incubator Y Combinator, as well as consumer groups. However, that support was undermined by the sheer amount of lobbying Apple and Google decided to perform.
Organizations lobbying the effort included the California Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition funded by Apple, Google, and others. It was apparently a big priority for Chamber of Progress for the bill to be killed, notes AppleInsider.
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