WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, issued the following statement regarding a federal judge’s ruling in Epic v. Apple:

“This ruling reaffirms what we heard in our Senate hearing last spring: app stores raise serious competition concerns. While the ruling addresses some of those concerns, much more must be done. We need to pass federal legislation on app store conduct to protect consumers, promote competition, and foster innovation. I introduced legislation with Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn to do exactly that last month, and I am working hard with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move it forward, along with other legal reforms we need to reinvigorate competition throughout our economy.”

Last month, Klobuchar joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in introducing the Open App Markets Act, which would set fair, clear, and enforceable rules to protect competition and strengthen consumer protections within the app market.

The introduction of this legislation follows a hearing chaired by Klobuchar in April, which highlighted the need for competition in the digital economy. Companies including Tile, Spotify, and Match Group testified at the hearing about how Apple and Google have appeared to use their powerful gatekeeper control to stifle competition in the app store market.

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