Apple does not appear to be willing to participate in an upcoming trial. The Senate plans to be competitive with the practice of app stores. In a spotted by It is addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, the chairman and leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee, that the company abruptly refused to send a witness 16 days in advance. the scheduled commencement of the hearings.
According to the letter, Apple cited “ongoing litigation” as the reason for its decision. The company is currently embroiled in a very public legal battle with Epic Games over its. Klobuchar and Lee point out that in the past, Apple has found ways to make witnesses available in similar situations. They also refer to evidence the company provided in the two countries when considering their recent app store reform bills, and an interview Tim Cook provided with in which he talked about Epic and the App Store. If Apple ultimately does not participate in the trial, it will be particularly noteworthy as Google has agreed to comply with the panel.
“Apple’s sudden change of course in refusing to testify before the Subcommittee on Competition Issues in the App Store in April, when the company is clearly prepared to discuss it in other public forums, is unacceptable.” concluded in the letter. We contacted Apple for comment, and we’ll update this article when we hear from the company.