acquire Intel's smartphone modem business.\2130\

\2129\ See Jordan Novet, Apple Buys an A.I. Start-up that Came from Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen's Research Lab, CNBC (Jan. 15, 2020), https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/15/apple-acquires-xnor-ai-startup-that-spun-out-of-allen-institute.html; Mark Gurman, Apple Acquires AI Startup to Better Understand Natural Language, Bloomberg (Apr. 3, 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-03/apple-acquires-ai-startup-to-better-understand-natural-language; Kif Leswing, Apple Buys Virtual Reality Company NextVR, CNBC (May 14, 2020), https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/apple-buys-virtual-reality-company-nextvr.html; Kif Leswing, Apple Buys Fleetsmith, a Company Making It Easier to Deploy iPhones and Macs at Workplaces, CNBC (June 24, 2020), https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/apple-acquires-device-management-company-fleetsmith.html; Jessica Bursztynsky, Apple Buys Popular Weather App Dark Sky and Plans to Shut Down Android Versions, CNBC (Mar. 31, 2020), https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/apple-buys-popular-weather-app-dark-sky.html; Mark Gurman, Apple Buys Startup to Turn iPhones into Payment Terminals, Bloomberg (July 31, 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-01/apple-buys-startup-to-turn-iphones-into-payment-terminals.

\2130\ Press Release, Apple, Apple to Acquire the Majority of Intel's Smartphone Modem Business (July 25, 2019), https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/07/apple-to-acquire-the-majority-of-intels-smartphone-modem-business/.

Apple has also recently acquired software companies to create a foundation from which it could launch new apps. For example, after purchasing the digital magazine subscription service Texture in 2018, Apple integrated most of Texture's functionality into its own Apple News+ service, which debuted the following year.\2131\ Similarly, one of Apple's largest purchases to date--its \$3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics in 2014--was instrumental to the 2015 launch of Apple Music.\2132\ Apple sought to grow Apple Music quickly after its introduction. Apple pre-installed the service on iPhones and made it the only music service accessible through Siri, Apple's virtual assistant. Apple also offered Apple Music with a free month trial period and made it available on Android devices. The strategy saw Apple gain 10 million paying subscribers within six months.\2133\ Apple supplemented its music services business in 2018 by acquiring the music recognition app Shazam, and most recently, by acquiring podcast app Scout FM in 2020.\2134\

\2131\ Anita Balakrishnan, Apple Buys Texture, a Digital Magazine Subscription Service, CNBC (Mar. 12, 2018), https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/apple-buys-texture-a-digital-magazine-subscription-service.html.

\2132\ Billy Steele, Apple's \$3 Billion Purchase of Beats Has Already Paid Off, Engadget (May 28, 2019), https://www.engadget.com/2019-05-28-apple-beats-five-years-later.html.

\2133\ Neth. Auth. for Consumers & Mkts. Study at 62.

\2134\ Press Release, Apple, Apple Acquires Shazam, Offering More Ways to Discover and Enjoy Music (Sept. 24, 2018), https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/09/apple-acquires-shazam-offering-more-ways-to-discover-and-enjoy-music/; Mark Gurman, Apple Buys Startup that Creates Radio-Like Stations for Podcasts, Bloomberg (Sept. 24, 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-24/apple-buys-startup-that-creates-radio-like-stations-for-podcasts.

It is common for Apple to integrate apps it purchases into its own pre-existing apps or into the iOS mobile operating system. Examples of this include the 2014 acquisition of Swell, a podcast app, and the 2013 acquisition of HopStop, a transit navigation app.\2135\

\2135\ Chris Gayomali, Swell Shuts Down Following Apple Acquisition, Fast Co. (July 29, 2014), https://www.fastcompany.com/3033698/swell-shuts-down-following-apple-acquisition; Andrew Nusca, Apple Maps vs. Google Maps Heats Up as Apple Shuts Down HopStop, Fortune (Sept. 12, 2015), https://fortune.com/2015/09/12/hopstop-apple-

shutdown/.

Apple has followed a similar strategy for integrating the Dark Sky weather app. Apple shut down Dark Sky's Android app in August 2020 and plans to integrate the app's features with the iPhone's Weather widget on iOS 14.\2136\ In addition to its app, Dark Sky supplied data to independent weather apps, like Carrot, Weather Line, and Partly Sunny. As a result of Apple's takeover of Dark Sky, independent weather apps will lose access to the inexpensive, hyper-local weather data that Dark Sky supplied, leading some weather apps to shut down and others to rely on higher-priced suppliers for forecast data.\2137\

\2136\ Hannah Klein, The Dark Sky Android App is Officially Kaput, Slate (Aug. 4, 2020), https://slate.com/technology/2020/08/dark-sky-app-android-shuts-down.html.

\2137\ Jared Newman, Apple's Dark Sky Acquisition Could Be Bad News for Indie Weather Apps, Fast Co. (Apr. 2, 2020), https://www.fastcompany.com/90485131/apples-dark-sky-acquisition-could-be-bad-news-for-indie-weather-apps. But see CEO Hearing at 403 (response to Questions for the Record of Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, Inc.) (noting Dark Sky will \`\`continue to make its API available to Dark Sky's existing customers until the end of 2021'').

# (c) Conduct

(i) Commissions and In-App Purchases. The Committee sought information regarding Apple's policy of collecting commissions from apps sold through the App Store and purchases made in iOS apps. Apple charges a 30 percent commission on paid apps--those that charge a fee for users to download--downloaded from the App Store. It also takes a 30 percent fee for in-app purchases (IAP) of \`\`digital goods and services.''\2138\ For app subscriptions, Apple charges a 30 percent commission for the first year and a 15 percent commission for subsequent years.\2139\ Apps are not permitted to communicate with iOS users that the app may be available for purchase at a lower price outside the App Store, provide links outside of the app that may lead users to find alternative subscription and payment methods, or offer their own payment processing mechanism in the app to avoid using Apple's IAP.\2140\ Apps that violate Apple's policies can be removed from the App Store, losing access to the only means of distributing apps to consumers with iOS devices.\2141\

\2138\ App Store: Dedicated to the Best Store Experience for Everyone, Apple, https://www.apple.com/ca/ios/app-store/principles-practices/ (last visited Oct. 4, 2020).

\2139\ Id.

\2140\ See Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hearing at 584-85 (response to Questions for the Record of Kyle Andeer, Vice President, Corp. Law, Apple, Inc.); Submission from ProtonMail, to H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 5 (Aug. 22, 2020) (on file with Comm.); Interview with Source 143 (Aug. 27, 2020).

\2141\ See, e.g., Sara Morrison, Apple's Fortnite Ban, Explained, Vox: Recode (Sept. 8, 2020), https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/8/20/21373780/fortnite-epic-apple-lawsuit-app-store-antitrust; Nick Statt, Apple Doubles Down on Controversial Decision to Reject Email App Hey, Verge (June 18, 2020), https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-app-basecamp-rejection-response-controversy-antitrust-regulation.

Apple describes its policies as standard industry practice and says that other app stores charge the same fees.\2142\ In 2020, Apple funded a study that concluded that other software distribution platforms run by Google, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, and others charge identical or similar commissions on software downloads and transactions, and that commissions are common in other digital markets.\2143\ Apple also highlighted that its commissions are lower than the cost of software distribution by brick-and-mortar retailers, which dominated the marketplace prior to the introduction of the App