From the report: "This
paper assesses the regulation of smartphone 'app stores.' At the outset, the
adoption of smartphones and apps is noted, alongside the ways in which scholars
and journalists have used these markets as the basis for the discussion of
legal and economic issues. The importance (commercially and as a study in
governance and control) of the iOS App Store (Apple) is highlighted. Part 2
deals with the relationship between Apple and app developers; three themes of
Apple’s Guidelines are identified (content, development and payments), and the
ways in which control can be challenged (through jailbreaking, ‘web apps’ and
regulatory intervention) are scrutinised. Part 3 considers three ways in which
apps are already regulated by law: the protection of consumers (particularly
through the UK system for 'premium rate services'), user privacy, and (in
brief) the regulation of video games and video-on-demand services in Europe.
Finally, in part 4, the tension between comparatively 'open and 'closed' app stores
is highlighted; the problems of applying general provisions to emerging formats
are emphasised. It is concluded that the emerging status of non-carrier app
stores as neither retailer nor platform means that it is not yet possible to
identify the form of regulation that is in operation, but that some steps are
available to legislators that could shift the balance between closed and open
models." Read more
