CCME launches to take on anti-competitive smartphone platform duopoly

Meta Platforms (META), Spotify (SPOT), Garmin (GRMN) and Match (MTCH) are among the companies launching the Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience, a lobbying coalition to take on Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) as legislation to require age verification gains momentum amid rising public concern over minors’ online access to inappropriate material. The group will lobby federal and state policymakers to enact legislation cracking down on the smartphone companies’ business practices, as well as aid the Justice Department in its cases against Apple and Google. “Smartphones have become one of the most important tools in our daily lives, but the mobile experience is controlled by gatekeepers that have used their control of the market to stifle competition and choice at the expense of consumers. Leveling the playing field, increasing interoperability, and adding age-based content restrictions in the app store will give consumers the power they deserve, providing more freedom and access, all while lowering costs,” said Brandon Kressin, Director of the Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience.