The U.S. Senate Open App Market Act debate is scheduled for Thursday

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will debate Thursday the Open App Markets Act, a bipartisan bill that, if passed as is, could affect the way Apple manages its app stores. U.S. lawmakers have been trying to cut the tech giant's market presence in other industries. The Open Applied Market Act is an attempt to achieve its objectives by combating the app market, and it has so far been unimpeded in the legislative process.

According to Reuters, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the Open Applied Market Act in a debate on Thursday. If enacted, the bill would impose restrictions on major app markets, including Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store.

The bill would apply measures such as preventing app stores from allowing developers to make in-app purchases using the store's built-in payment system, while also preventing app store operators from penalizing apps that use different pricing structures through alternative payment platforms, rather than through the app store itself. The bill also includes elements that prevent app marketplaces from using non-public information to compete with third-party entities.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called the bill "a way to stop Apple and Google from suppressing competitors and consumer choices." Breaking the irony of these two behemoths against the multibillion-dollar application market is long overdue."

Republican Sen. Martha Blackburn added that the hearing "takes us one step closer to holding big tech companies like Apple and Google accountable." Tech giants are imposing their own app stores on users at the expense of innovative startups. "

After the announcement, Meghan DiMuzio, executive director of the App Fairness Alliance, issued a statement praising the upcoming debate. "Advancing this legislation sends a clear and unmistakable message that monopolistic control over the application ecosystem is no longer acceptable." He argues that the bill "directly addresses the anti-competitive policies of app store vendors to the detriment of developers and consumers, and that government action is necessary to bring competition to the digital marketplace, and that janitors cannot be trusted to voluntarily self-discipline."

Apple had tried to thwart the bill, and the tech giant-backed lobby group Chamber of Progress fought back in August. "I haven't seen any consumers marching in Washington asking Congress to make their smartphones dumber. Congress has better things to do than to meddle in multimillion-dollar disputes between businesses," Adam Kovačević, the group's chief executive, said at the time.

Apple also made changes to app store policies after a developer lawsuit in September, but that was clearly not enough to appease lawmakers.

The Senate debate isn't the only one taking place behind the door in Washington, D.C. In addition to the Senate bill, the U.S. House of Representatives also has its own matching bill and is going through a similar review process.

In October, the U.S. Senate first introduced another bill designed to prevent store operators from promoting their own services in search results rather than competitors.