Large tech firms like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon have come under heightened scrutiny in 2019 over whether they're engaging in anticompetitive business practices. And those concerns probably aren't going to disappear in 2020.
Back in July, for example, the Department of Justice announced that it was launching a broad probe into market-leading platforms in online search, social media, and e-commerce. Representatives from Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon also appeared before a House subcommittee in July where they were grilled on how the size and impact of their respective business impacts competition.
For Apple, it's the App Store in particular that's come under scrutiny, as concerns have persisted over whether Apple should be allowed to run the same app marketplace in which it competes.
"It's got to be one or the other," Democratic senator and 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren previously said to The Verge, referring to Apple's relationship to its App Store. "Either they run the platform or they play in the store. They don't get to do both at the same time."
As Apple has launched its own apps and services, like Apple Music and screen time management controls for the iPhone, some app developers have come forward to suggest that Apple's position gives it an unfair advantage.
In April, for example, The New York Times reported that Apple had removed or restricted some parental control apps after launching its own similar feature for the iPhone. Music streaming giant Spotify also filed an antitrust complaint against Apple earlier this year. Spotify says that the 30% cut Apple takes from transactions made through the App Store makes it difficult for the company to price its Premium subscription competitively.
Apple says on its website that it invests in developers' success, adding that app makers have other channels available to them through which to distribute their products. But antitrust concerns are still very much on the minds of lawmakers and industry observers heading into 2020, suggesting that this is a topic that will likely come up again throughout the year ahead.