Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren calls for break up of Apple

Matthew Field
Elizabeth Warren has attacked tech companies over competition concerns - FR140274 AP
Elizabeth Warren has attacked tech companies over competition concerns - FR140274 AP

Elizabeth Warren, the US Democratic presidential candidate, has added Apple to her hit list of technology giants that should be broken up to curb Silicon Valley's growing power.

Warren, an early favourite to challenge Donald Trump for the White House in the 2020 US presidential elections, said Apple should spin off its App Store, which is used for downloads of iPhone and iPad apps.

The Massachusetts senator has trained her sights on Silicon Valley companies, saying she would call for the break up of Amazon, Google and Facebook as a global “tech lash” against the US companies grows.

On Saturday, she added Apple to her list of targets. Warren told tech website The Verge: “You’ve got to break it apart from their App Store. It’s got to be one or the other. Either they run the platform or they play in the store. They don’t get to do both at the same time.”

The iPhone maker has increasingly talked up the potential of its “services” business, which includes the App Store.

Apple takes a 30pc commission from sales on the store, which lets users download new apps from social media sites like Facebook to banking apps like Monzo.

SensorTower, an app analyst firm, estimated that App Store apps generated in the region of $12bn (£9.2bn) per quarter in 2018, of which Apple takes just under a third.

Apple has faced a rebellion from some major app makers on iOS. Netflix pulled its service from the App Store in protest over the fees. Epic Games, the maker of hit video game Fortnite, followed suit earlier this year.

Warren last week called for tech companies with annual revenues of more than $25bn to have their online marketplaces designated as utilities, making them unable to compete with other participates. Amazon, for example, would be prevented from selling its own products alongside competitors on its shopping website.

“These big companies exert enormous influence in the economy and in Washington DC,” Warren told the website. “We break them apart, that backs up the influence a little bit, and it makes absolutely sure that they’re not engaged in these unfair practices that stomp out every little business that’s trying to get a start.”