The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Mobile apps have become an essential tool for participation in much of daily life. Given both the growing importance of mobile apps and the need to promote innovation in this space, President Biden called for a study of the ecosystem along with recommendations for improving competition, reducing barriers to entry and maximizing the benefits for consumers as part of a 2021 Executive Order on competition.
NTIA undertook an extensive investigation of the competitive conditions in the mobile app ecosystem, including consultation with a diverse array of stakeholders – private industry, civil society and academia. As one element of this consultation, the agency reviewed more than 150 comments filed in response to a request for public feedback on the app ecosystem in April 2022.
Consumers largely can’t get apps outside of the app store model, controlled by Apple and Google. This means innovators have very limited avenues for reaching consumers.
Apple and Google create hurdles for developers to compete for consumers by imposing technical limits, such as restricting how apps can function or requiring developers to go through slow and opaque review processes.
Download the Mobile App Competition Report
NTIA’s “Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem” report found the current ecosystem is not a level playing field, which is harmful to developers and consumers. The report recommends policy changes to improve the ecosystem.
The measures identified in the report will help open the app ecosystem to greater competition, innovation and potential benefits for users and developers.
Consumers should have more control over their devices. They should be able to choose their own apps as defaults, use alternative mobile app stores, and delete or hide pre-installed apps.
App store operators should not be able to “self-preference” their apps in an anticompetitive manner. Operators should not be able to favor their own apps in how they appear in search results or discriminate against other apps that are similar to their own
Operators should lift restrictions on alternative ways for consumers to download and install apps. While still preserving appropriate latitude for privacy and security safeguards, legislative and regulatory measures should prohibit restrictions on sideloading, alternative app stores and web apps.
Operator should address limits on in-app purchasing. This can be done by barring requirements that developers use the app store operators’ in-app payment system.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said in a new report Wednesday that the current mobile app store model is harmful to consumers and developers, and recommended policy changes to fix it.
Apps on mobile devices are a part of daily life for many Americans. They allow us to talk with our friends, find a ride home, play games, or monitor our health. These applications on our mobile phones and tablets can help small business owners reach new customers, and thousands of American entrepreneurs and innovators are working on apps that increase productivity, improve health care and make learning more fun.
That’s why mobile apps have become a significant part of our economy -- by one industry account, the app economy was valued at $1.7 trillion in 2020, employing more than 5.9 million Americans.
In his Executive Order on promoting competition, President Biden recognized America’s tech sector as an engine of innovation and growth, but he warned that dominant Internet platforms can “use their power to exclude market entrants, to extract monopoly profits, and to gather intimate personal information that they can exploit for their own advantage.”
With the goal of promoting a fair, open, and competitive marketplace, the Executive Order directed the Department of Commerce to conduct a study of the mobile app ecosystem, and to use an open and transparent process to hear from the many stakeholders in the app economy, including consumers, app developers, businesses, and nonprofits.