White House takes aim at Apple and Google for their app stores

The Biden administration is taking aim at Apple and Google for operating mobile app stores that it says stifle competition.

The finding is contained in a Commerce Department report released on Wednesday as President Joe Biden was set to convene his competition council for an update on efforts to promote competition and lower prices.

The report from the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration says the current app store model — dominated by Apple and Google — is "harmful to consumers and developers" by inflating prices and reducing innovation. The firms have a stranglehold on the market that squelches competition, it adds.