Lawmakers Wonder if Apple Uses Privacy for Anti-Competitive Behavior

The head of the antitrust investigation into Big Tech, Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI) is concerned that Apple may be using its privacy measures to hide anti-competitive behavior (via Washington Post).

Privacy

An example of this is when Apple strengthened location-blocking measures in iOS. It’s now more difficult for apps to track you in the background, at least when it comes to third-party apps. Apple’s own apps can use your location in this manner but iOS doesn’t give you the same alerts for these first-party apps.

Although Apple users can go into settings and limit what data Apple’s apps collect, it’s a multi-step process that many probably won’t do, or won’t know how to do. The main concern is that this gives Apple an advantage over competitors, adding new features to iOS that use location without asking users for additional permissions.

Another example given is Tile, maker of Bluetooth tracking devices. The company’s app now can’t ask for location tracking that constantly works in the background. But Apple’s app Find My defaults to offline finding and other tracking features. Presumably, Apple’s rumored Tile competitor called Tag would work the same, which goes back to the concern that Apple uses this to give itself an edge over competitors.

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