It has become popular in both parties to believe that the government should be in the business of being in business. From Democrats proposing city-run grocery stores to Republicans buying stakes in steel mills and computer chip makers, the trend is bipartisan—and sets a dangerous precedent. The latest example? The deceptively named App Store Freedom Act, a bill that would turn one of the most successful innovations of the 21st century—mobile e-commerce—into another casualty of political micromanagement.
Spearheaded by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), the legislation’s supporters claim that it promotes competition and child safety by forcing Apple and Google to allow third parties to take over parts of their mobile ecosystems. But what it actually does is undermine security, weaken consumer choice, and threaten the very innovations that empower consumers across the globe. The sponsors also claim that Apple and Google are forcing consumers into high prices and limited choices. But evidence says otherwise.
Today’s mobile platforms—Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android—have created robust digital marketplaces. Apple’s App Store hosts over 2 million apps and more than 855,000 publishers. It’s ecosystem nearly tripled between 2019 and 2024, from $142 billion to $406 billion. Google boasts over 4 billion apps, with 800 to 1,200 apps added daily; app revenue grows over 8 percent annually. These are not symptoms of monopoly: They are signs of flourishing innovation.
If anything, the app economy is one of the few markets where small developers effectively challenge incumbents and win. In our research, my colleagues and I found that Apple’s App Store policies help rivals: developers are more likely to create, update, and expand their apps when competing with Apple. Google’s Play Store, while eliciting more neutral reactions, still facilitates access to consumers worldwide. Ironically, this legislation would push Apple’s more controlled, secure model to resemble Google’s—blurring the distinction and reducing competition between platforms rather than enhancing it.
The bill’s backers also claim they are protecting children. Yet, Apple and Google are investing heavily in tools that let parents manage what apps their kids can access and how they use them. Apple’s recent updates make it easier for parents to set up Child Accounts, adjust communication limits, and apply age-appropriate content filters. Google’s Family Link allows parents to monitor screen time, manage app installs, and locate their kids’ devices.
These protections depend on centralized app vetting and ecosystem integrity—precisely what the App Store Freedom Act aims to dismantle. By forcing Apple and Google to allow third-party control, the bill strips away security tools the companies use to keep malware, spyware, and predatory apps at bay. As my AEI colleague Shane Tews has warned, this opens new doors for surveillance, fraud, and cyberattacks.
The irony is hard to ignore. A bill that claims to expand choice would, in practice, erase the very distinctions that give consumers options. Apple and Android offer two fundamentally different models. One prioritizes a curated experience; the other emphasizes openness and customization. Consumers can choose between them, or from several other—although less popular—systems. But under the proposed law, those models would be forced to converge under a single set of government-imposed rules. That’s not freedom; that’s central planning.
Markets are better able to direct innovation than government controls. Apple and Google were the disruptors that dethroned BlackBerry and Nokia less than two decades ago. Today, they face new competitive threats—not from Washington-created businesses, but from artificial intelligence.
AI is remaking mobile e-commerce at a breathtaking pace. Algorithms are enabling hyper-personalized products, shopping resources, and search. AI-driven fraud detection and agentic checkout systems are revolutionizing mobile payments. None of these advances came from Congress: All are emerging from the companies themselves, competing to win consumers.
The App Store Freedom Act would disrupt this progress. It would entangle private innovation in political agendas, reduce the ability of platforms to compete on experience and security, and grant favored developers the power to rewrite the rules for everyone else.
Congress should resist the urge to fix what isn’t broken. The real danger isn’t Apple or Google managing their platforms—it’s Washington deciding to control them instead.
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