Supreme Court antitrust case bypasses traditional technology regulators

A string of controversies in recent years involving tech companies has led many observers to call for stronger antitrust enforcement and a tougher competition policy. A new addition to this public demand comes from an unlikely source: In Nov 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by Apple to dismiss a lawsuit from Robert Pepper and three other iPhone owners. The defendants in Apple Inc. v. Pepper accuse the company of acting like a monopolist by controlling which apps to publish in its app store, taking a cut of sales, and prohibiting other app distributors. The Court’s decision could have major implications beyond this case for e-commerce companies that act as platforms for matching buyers with sellers. A decision for the defendants in Apple Inc. v. Pepper might also force large platform companies to alter current business models based on providing mobile apps. Any platform that builds a “walled garden” and then acts as a gatekeeper and toll collector should have to justify this behavior in terms of consumer impact. Otherwise, they risk legal challenges like Apple Inc. v. Pepper that argue that this arrangement is harmful for consumers and anti-competitive for app developers.