Apple Discussed 'Punitive Measures' Against Netflix for Dropping In-App Purchase | Hacker News Reader

Apple Discussed 'Punitive Measures' Against Netflix for Dropping In-App Purchase

macrumors.com

65 pointsAudiophilip23 comments

"We do not retaliate or bully people. It’s strongly against our company culture.”

"We treat every developer the same,"

- Tim Cook.

I also think the 9to5's account [1] goes into much more detail of those measures. They are also the rare few site that digs into every released documents in great depth.

[1] https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/05/netflix-apple-in-app-purchase...

Someone asked higher ups whether they should start bullying Netflix. Next, Apple started trying to placate Netflix by fixing issues and making things possible that they wanted.

Doesn’t sound like bullying to me.

I think the main point here is not what happened in Netflix's particular case.

Has Apple behaved differently in other cases?

Maybe Apple realized Netflix is too big to bully?

Apple AirPods alone generate as much revenue as the whole of Netflix.

"Big" doesn't always mean revenue. In this case means eyeballs, market share, whether it's a leader in its niche (it is), public opinion, etc.

Netflix is huge.

It was just a particularly stupid thing to say when the App Store Review guidelines used to explicitly say they would retaliate -

"If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."

It is absolutely part of Apple's culture. They publicly said so and were really proud of it!

And just like every other bully, they are also cowards. Because running to the press is exactly the only thing that works for most people. As long as you are able to get enough traction with the press, your issues will magically get resolved.

Standing their ground and refusing to succumb to blackmail is not the same as retaliation.

> Standing their ground and refusing to succumb to blackmail is not the same as retaliation.

Lol, that is the most backward fanboy reading of that sentence possible.

I am really pleased Epic is conducting this lawsuit. Even if they lose the lawsuit, it seems likely they'll end up with at least a partial victory by shining light on Apple's practices.

Apple has been a great thing for the world but I find their App Store practices extremely distasteful.

Seems like someone asked if they should, not really a discussion. Seems more like the discussion was how many value adding activities Apple could do specifically for Netflix to keep them with subscriptions in the AppStore. Which obviously was no where near enough.

Unpopular opinion: I read the email exchange and I could see me doing exactly the same if I were App Store Business Management Director. I mean, this is business as usual in any enterprise or sales. You are losing income, but keeping the customer, what should you do?

We have to remember that - first and foremost - Apple is a business. I’m yet to be convinced on why they should be held to higher standards than any other Fortune 500 company, where such business practices and price (non-)negotiations are common.

Why exactly is Apple somehow forbidden to do this?

Their CEO said they treat everyone the same and they don’t retaliate.

If he was more honest about fighting for as much money as possible for Apple at the expense of consumer experience, then maybe people wouldn’t care as much?

and as the article states they didn't retaliate.

I dont have a problem per se. I agree I would have done the same too if I was in their seat. It is just normal business. I just have a problem with Apple being an extreme hypocrite.

That is the same tactic used against Qualcomm and IMG. ( And numerous other cases but I am most familiar with those two ) All to rally outside support and weaponising with their PR reach.

This is a very different Apple to when Steve was in charge.

US anti-trust law is the reason.

which applies to monopolies, which apple does not have.

Or charging unreasonable prices - they match the entire rest of the industry.

If Apple doesn't have a monopoly, where are the other iOS app stores?

You mean android?

Is Android a store for iOS apps? Obviously not.

No, but you can switch to android if you want a different store that takes a 30% cut

That does not make iOS apps and android apps substitutes for each other, which means they are different markets. You can use public transport instead of driving, still if only one company built cars it would be a monopoly.

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