Sponsor
Russell Fry
Representative · R-SC
Representative · R-SC
Official title: To prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the app marketplace, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 11, 2025 by Russell Fry · Last progress September 11, 2025
The bill increases user choice and developer access to app ecosystems and strengthens federal enforcement, but it raises security risks, shifts costs and regulatory power away from states, and creates new compliance burdens that could affect prices, device functionality, and consumer remedies.
App developers and small businesses can access internal OS interfaces and device hardware on equivalent, no‑cost terms, making it easier to build and distribute apps and alternative app stores and increasing competition and innovation.
Device users and app developers gain the ability to install third‑party apps and app stores, set third‑party apps or stores as defaults, and remove preinstalled apps, increasing consumer choice and user control over devices.
Consumers and states benefit from stronger enforcement tools because the FTC can treat violations as unfair or deceptive, obtain civil penalties, and states have clearer avenues for redress, increasing deterrence and potential remedies for harmed users.
All device users face higher security and malware risk because allowing sideloading and third‑party app stores makes it harder for platforms to vet apps and block malicious software.
Companies and ultimately consumers could face higher costs because covered firms will incur new compliance burdens and exposure to large civil penalties (up to $1,000,000 per violation), which may be passed through in prices or reduced services.
State and local governments — and their residents — lose the ability to impose stronger privacy or security requirements on covered companies, which can reduce local consumer protections and limit responses to region‑specific risks.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Requires dominant OS+app‑store companies to permit third‑party app stores, side‑loading, default app choice, equivalent developer access, and bans several anticompetitive app‑store practices.
Requires big companies that both control an operating system and an associated app store to allow competing apps and app stores to operate freely on their devices and to stop anticompetitive app-store practices. The bill forces covered companies to permit third‑party installation, let users choose default apps or stores, give developers access to needed interfaces on equivalent terms, and bans rules that lock developers into proprietary payment systems, parity pricing, or restrictions on communications with users. Gives the Federal Trade Commission primary enforcement authority (including civil penalties up to $1,000,000 per violation) and lets state attorneys general bring suits with notice to the FTC. It preempts state laws that would require or forbid the actions the bill mandates or prohibits, preserves IP and national‑security exceptions, defines covered companies as those controlling an OS and an app store with over 100,000,000 U.S. users, and makes the law effective when the FTC issues compliance guidance (within 180 days).