He wrote that in America, “we do not punish businesses for their success. We certainly do not punish businesses because their competitors struggle to keep pace. Sadly, that is exactly what the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempts to do in its recent lawsuit against Apple.”
For those who came in late, the DOJ, joined by 15 states and the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit that Paul mischaracterised as “penalising Apple for successfully competing in the market for smartphones.”
“The DOJ's lawsuit is focused on punishing Apple for its success rather than addressing any real harm to consumers. Instead of fostering innovation and competition, this approach threatens to stifle the very progress that benefits Americans.”
The fact that Apple has been using its App Store as a tool to push up prices of apps by demanding a third of developer’s takings and preventing rivals from competing in his App Store does not seem to have occurred to Paul.
“In its lawsuit, the DOJ makes the unsubstantiated claim that Apple has "willfully monopolised" the smartphone market through "exclusionary" and "anti-competitive" conduct. In particular, it accuses Apple of exercising unwarranted control over creating, distributing, and functioning apps within the iPhone operating system. What the complaint ignores, however, is that this control is not simply a lawful business practice by a privately held company; it is an indispensable part of Apple's business model. Far from being an "anti-competitive" practice that harms consumers, Apple's careful approach to app integration is a pro-competitive way in which it meets its users' demands,” Paul moans.
Paul then goes on to rehash Apple's talking points about how Apple must do all this for security, integration, and other things that watchdogs have rejected in every other civilised country.
He even goes on to hawk Apple’s products by going off-topic, saying, " What makes Apple products so unique is their ease of use and consistency over time. While no product will ever be perfect, Apple aims to deliver a seamless, integrated experience that users can rely on time after time without giving it a second thought.”
"Digital markets do not need more government regulation; they need more companies willing to innovate and compete," concludes Sen. Paul. "The DOJ should not waste taxpayer-provided resources targeting a company that has earned its success through excellence in the marketplace.”