An interview with Benedict Evans about his career, the differences between American and European approaches to regulation and antitrust, and the most important questions about AI.
Apple and Antitrust for Aggregators, DMA Investigations and Apple’s Risk
A much better antitrust case against Apple would focus on developers, not customers. Then, the E.U. is investigating all of American tech under the DMA; the chances of Apple leaving are not zero.
United States v. Apple
Apple is being sued by the DOJ, but most of the complaints aren’t about the App Store. I think, though, Apple’s approach to the App Store is what led to this case.
The Supreme Court Declines to Hear Apple-Epic, Apple’s (Predictable) Response
The Supreme Court declined to hear the Apple Epic case, which means the injunction against Apple’s ban on steering links in apps goes into effect. Apple’s response, though, shows that nothing will change (and no one should be surprised).
Adobe Abandons Figma Acquisition; The Neo-Brandeis Movement’s Missed Opportunity; First, Do No Harm
The Adobe-Figma acquisition probably shouldn’t have gone through; that the right outcome was achieved for arguably the wrong reasons, though, is concerning for the long run of tech innovation.
Google Loses Antitrust Case to Epic; The Differences Between Apple and Google, Revisited; The Tying Question
Epic won its antitrust case against Google, which shouldn’t be a surprise to Stratechery readers: the situation is very different than Apple. What matters most in the decision, though, is tying.
Google’s Apple Payments; Apple Services: Narrative vs. Reality; Google’s Motivation
The juiciest detail yet came out of the Google antitrust case: how much the company pays Apple. This isn’t just a function of Apple’s leverage, but also Google’s strategic foresight.
FTC Sues Amazon
The FTC is suing Amazon, and some of the complaints are compelling, but ultimately not convincing.
Microsoft, Activision, and Ubisoft(?!); The Activision Deal; Foolhardy Forecasting
Microsoft has substantially reworked its deal with Activision to satisfy U.K. regulators; it’s a win for the CMA, and time to consider what comes next.
Microsoft-Activision Updates; Reader Follow-Up; Free Speech, the Government, and Scale
An update on Microsoft-Activision, and then a response to a reader upset at my take, weaved in with commentary about free speech in the context of last week’s ruling about social media moderation.