I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3209 
To prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the app marketplace, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 6, 2025 
Mrs. CAMMACK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the app 
marketplace, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘App Store Freedom 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTING A COMPETITIVE APP MARKET. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) INTEROPERABILITY.—A covered company 
that owns or controls the operating system on which 
an app store owned or controlled by the covered 
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company operates shall allow and provide readily ac-
cessible means for a user of such operating system 
to— 
(A) choose a third-party app or app store 
as a default; 
(B) install a third-party app or app store 
through means other than the app store owned 
or controlled by the covered company; and 
(C) hide or delete an app or app store pro-
vided or pre-installed by the covered company 
(or any business partner of the covered com-
pany). 
(2) OPEN APP DEVELOPMENT.—A covered com-
pany, in a timely manner, without cost, and on 
terms that are equivalent to the terms of access by 
the covered company or any business partner of the 
covered company, shall provide to a developer of an 
app accessible on an operating system, or distributed 
through an app store, owned or controlled by the 
covered company— 
(A) access to any interface and hardware 
and software feature of the operating system 
that are generally available to the covered com-
pany and any business partner of the covered 
company; and 
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(B) documentation and development infor-
mation sufficient to access any such interface 
and feature. 
(3) COMPLIANCE.—A covered company shall be 
in compliance with the requirements described under 
paragraph (2) if that company— 
(A) licenses any intellectual property that 
the developer of an app needs to access any 
interface or hardware or software feature of 
such operating system; or 
(B) limits the interfaces and hardware and 
software features of the operating system gen-
erally available to the covered company and any 
businesses partner of the company to interfaces 
and hardware and software features that do not 
implicate such intellectual property rights. 
(b) PROHIBITIONS.— 
(1) EXCLUSIVITY AND TYING.—A covered com-
pany may not— 
(A) require, as a condition for an app to 
be accessible on an operating system or distrib-
uted through an app store that is owned or con-
trolled by the covered company, that— 
(i) a developer of the app use or en-
able an in-app payment system owned or 
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controlled by the covered company or any 
business partner of the covered company; 
or 
(ii) pricing or other terms of sale be 
equal to or more favorable on such oper-
ating system or app store than on another 
operating system or app store; or 
(B) take punitive action or otherwise im-
pose less favorable terms and conditions against 
a developer of an app distributed outside of an 
app store that is owned or controlled by the 
covered company— 
(i) for using or offering different pric-
ing or other terms of sale on an app store 
or through an in-app payment system that 
is not owned or controlled by the covered 
company; or 
(ii) on the basis that such app pro-
vides access to a third-party app that is 
not owned or controlled by the covered 
company through remote electronic services 
rather than through download from an op-
erating system or an app store that is 
owned or controlled by the covered com-
pany. 
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(2) INTERFERENCE
WITH
LEGITIMATE
BUSI-
NESS COMMUNICATIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—A covered company 
may not impose any restriction or fee on the 
communication of a developer of an app acces-
sible on an operating system or distributed 
through an app store that is owned or con-
trolled by the covered company with a user of 
the app, whether through such app or direct 
outreach to such user, concerning legitimate 
business offers, including pricing or other terms 
of sale and product or service offerings. 
(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this paragraph may be construed to prohibit a 
covered company from requiring that consent of 
a user be obtained prior to collecting and shar-
ing data of the user through an app accessible 
on an operating system or distributed through 
an app store that is owned or controlled by the 
covered company if the apps and services of the 
company are subject to the same consent. 
(3) NONPUBLIC
BUSINESS
INFORMATION.—A 
covered company may not use nonpublic business in-
formation derived from an app accessible on an op-
erating system or distributed through an app store 
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that is owned or controlled by the covered company 
for the purpose of competing with such app. 
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS-
SION.— 
(1) UNFAIR
OR
DECEPTIVE
ACTS
OR
PRAC-
TICES.—A violation of this Act shall be treated as 
a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices. 
(2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—Except as pro-
vided in paragraph (3)— 
(A) the Commission shall enforce this Act 
in the same manner, by the same means, and 
with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 
as though all applicable terms and provisions of 
the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a 
part of this Act; and 
(B) any covered company who violates this 
Act shall be subject to the penalties and enti-
tled to the privileges and immunities provided 
in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 
(3) PENALTIES.— 
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(A) ADDITIONAL CIVIL PENALTY.—In ad-
dition to any penalty applicable under the Fed-
eral Trade Commission Act, any covered com-
pany who violates this Act shall be liable for a 
civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for 
each violation. 
(B) METHOD.—Any civil penalty described 
in subparagraph (A) shall be obtained in the 
same manner as a civil penalty for a violation 
of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a(a)(1)(B)). 
(4) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to limit the authority of 
the Commission under any other provision of law. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the attorney general of a 
State, or an official or agency of a State, has reason 
to believe that an interest of the residents of the 
State has been or is threatened or adversely affected 
by an act or practice that violates this Act, the State 
may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents 
of the State in an appropriate district court of the 
United States to obtain appropriate relief. 
(2) RIGHTS OF COMMISSION.— 
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(A) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (iii), an attorney general, official, 
or agency of a State, before filing a civil 
action under paragraph (1), shall provide 
written notification to the Commission that 
the attorney general, official, or agency in-
tends to bring such civil action. 
(ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re-
quired under clause (i) shall include a copy 
of the complaint for the civil action. 
(iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 
for an attorney general, official, or agency 
of a State to provide the notification re-
quired under clause (i) before filing a civil 
action under paragraph (1), the attorney 
general, official, or agency shall provide 
the notification to the Commission imme-
diately upon the filing of the civil action. 
(B) INTERVENTION BY COMMISSION.—The 
Commission may— 
(i) intervene in any civil action filed 
by an attorney general, official, or agency 
of a State under paragraph (1); and 
(ii) upon so intervening— 
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(I) be heard on all matters aris-
ing in the civil action; and 
(II) appeal a decision in the civil 
action. 
(C) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE 
FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commis-
sion or the Attorney General of the United 
States has instituted a civil action for violation 
of this Act (referred to in this subparagraph as 
the ‘‘Federal action’’), no State attorney gen-
eral, official, or agency may bring an action 
under paragraph (1) during the pendency of the 
Federal action against any defendant named in 
the complaint in the Federal action for any vio-
lation of such Act alleged in such complaint. 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of 
bringing a civil action under paragraph (1), nothing 
in this Act may be construed to prevent an attorney 
general, official, or agency of a State from exercising 
the powers conferred on the attorney general, offi-
cial, or agency by the laws of the State to conduct 
investigations, administer oaths or affirmations, or 
compel the attendance of witnesses or the production 
of documentary or other evidence. 
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SEC. 4. EFFECT ON STATE LAW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State, or political subdivision 
of a State, may not maintain, enforce, prescribe, or con-
tinue in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, 
standard, or other provision having the force and effect 
of law of the State, or political subdivision of the State, 
that— 
(1) prohibits a covered company from engaging 
in any conduct prohibited by section 2; or 
(2) requires a covered company to take any ac-
tion required by section 2. 
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not 
be construed to— 
(1) preempt any law of a State or political sub-
division of a State relating to contracts, torts, or un-
fair competition; or 
(2) preempt any law of a State or political sub-
division of a State to the extent that such law re-
lates to an act of fraud, unauthorized access to per-
sonal information, or notification of unauthorized ac-
cess to personal information. 
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act may be construed— 
(1) to limit— 
(A) any authority of the Federal Trade 
Commission under the Federal Trade Commis-
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sion Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), or any other 
provision of law; or 
(B) the application of any Federal law; 
(2) to require a covered company— 
(A) to provide service under a hardware or 
software warranty for damage caused by a 
third-party app or app store installed through 
means other than an app store owned or con-
trolled by the covered company; or 
(B) to provide customer service for the in-
stallation or operation of such a third-party app 
or app store; 
(3) to prevent an action taken by a covered 
company that is reasonably tailored to protect the 
rights of a person under section 106, 1101, 1201, or 
1401 of title 17, United States Code, or rights ac-
tionable under sections 32 or 43 of the Act entitled 
‘‘An Act to provide for the registration and protec-
tion of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out 
the provisions of certain international conventions, 
and for other purposes’’, approved July 5, 1946 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Lanham Act’’ or the 
‘‘Trademark Act of 1946’’) (15 U.S.C. 1114, 1125), 
or corollary State law; 
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(4) to require a covered company to license any 
intellectual property, including any trade secrets, 
owned by or licensed to the covered company; 
(5) to prevent a covered company from assert-
ing rights of the covered company under intellectual 
property law to prevent the unlawful use of any in-
tellectual property owned by or duly licensed to the 
covered company; 
(6) to require a covered company to work with 
or share data with any person who— 
(A) is on any list maintained by the Fed-
eral Government by which entities are identified 
as limited or prohibited from engaging in eco-
nomic transactions as part of United States 
sanctions or export control regimes; 
(B) is a foreign entity that has been identi-
fied by the Federal Government as a national 
security, intelligence, or law enforcement risk, 
including the Government of the People’s Re-
public of China or the government of a foreign 
adversary (as defined in section 8(c)(2) of the 
Secure and Trusted Communications Networks 
Act of 2019 (473 U.S.C. 1607(c)(2))); or 
(C) is a foreign adversary controlled appli-
cation (as defined in section 2(g)(3) of the Pro-
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tecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Con-
trolled Applications Act (Public Law 118–50; 
15 U.S.C. 9901 note)); or 
(7) to limit any Federal or State law relating 
to antitrust. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APP.—The term ‘‘app’’ means a software 
application or electronic service that may be run or 
directed by a user on a computer, a mobile device, 
or any other general purpose consumer computing 
device. 
(2) APP STORE.—The term ‘‘app store’’ means 
a publicly available website, software application, or 
other electronic service that may distribute apps 
from third-party developers to users of a computer, 
a mobile device, or any other general purpose con-
sumer computing device. 
(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Trade Commission. 
(4) COVERED
COMPANY.—The term ‘‘covered 
company’’ means any person who owns or controls— 
(A) an app store for which the number of 
users 
in 
the 
United 
States 
exceeds 
100,000,000; and 
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(B) the operating system on which such 
app store operates. 
(5) DEVELOPER.—The term ‘‘developer’’ means 
a person who owns or controls an app or an app 
store. 
(6) IN-APP PAYMENT SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘in- 
app payment system’’ means an application, service, 
or user interface to manage billing or process a pay-
ment from a user of an app. 
(7) NONPUBLIC BUSINESS INFORMATION.—The 
term ‘‘nonpublic business information’’ means non-
public data that is— 
(A) derived from a developer or an app or 
app store owned or controlled by a developer, 
including an interaction between a user and the 
app or app store of the developer; and 
(B) collected by a covered company in the 
course of operating an app store or providing 
an operating system. 
(8) OPERATING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘operating 
system’’ includes an operating system configuration. 
SEC. 7. GUIDANCE; EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) FTC GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
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shall issue guidance to assist covered companies in com-
plying with this Act. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on 
the date on which the Commission issues guidance under 
subsection (a). 
Æ 
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