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Once again there are alternatives; nobody forced anybody to buy iPhones.

It’s not like Apple lied at any point saying “buy our phones and do whatever you want on them!” No. It’s clear. You do what they want. In what name should they be forced to “open” it to anybody?

What’s next? Force google to make their map data open? How would that go? It’s mostly the same thing.

4 comments

You might want to familiarize yourself with the last 200 years of industrial evolution.

Spoiler: companies have been forced to do all sorts of things they really didn't want to do, and it often went fairly well for society at large.

Wait, children aren't forced to work in death factories anymore?!?!

Huh, guess it's just Foxconn then.

To be blunt, Apple, Google, and other tech megacorps should be glad that we as a society allow them to exist in the first place, even despite growing to the size where they are clearly hindering free market (by actively blocking competition). Never forget that corporations are artificial entities chartered by governments; and nobody has a natural right to a corporate charter, so those can and should come with hefty strings attached.

And nobody is forcing you to do anything.

I have no idea what your argument is here. That people shouldn't advocate for greater competition in the marketplace just because they already bought a phone?

It's not at all the same thing? Also there's a more apt comparison, which is forcing Google to make Android open and allow alternative app stores (oh wait, they already do).

App stores are a natural monopoly. An app store with more users attracts more developers. An app store with more apps attracts more users. It has a strong network effect and economies of scale. Natural monopolies should be regulated to prevent abuse by the first companies that capture wide market share.