How Apple and Google abuse the app market – Gene Burrus, CAF

This week’s podcast guest is Gene Burrus, global policy council for the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF). Burrus discusses how Apple and Google use their dominant position in the app store market to unfairly treat app developers and the legal battle taking place over this. 

Burrus joined CAF – a group of app developers advocating for a competitive and fair marketplace – after his work at Spotify (a CAF member) introduced him to the complex struggle between app stores and apps.

CAF contains members from early-stage startups to global powerhouses, including Fortnite developer Epic Games.

Burrus explains the various legal challenges made against Apple and Google and the progress from global competition regulators in breaking up the app store monopoly, described by Burros as being akin to Microsoft’s domination of the software market in the 90s before anti-trust lawsuits came into place. 

Listen to the full episode here, along with all previous episodes of the UKTN Podcast.

The UKTN Podcast is sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking, which offers flexible banking solutions for startups, scaleups, growth businesses, investors and those working towards IPO.

Throughout the series, the UKTN Podcast speaks to some of the key movers and shakers from UK tech. We’ll learn growth strategies from both seasoned and up-and-coming founders, hear market sentiments from investors, and question policymakers on the decisions impacting the country’s innovation economy.