Apple's Subversion of Open Standards: A Critique of Platform Control

Summary

This article critiques Apple's approach to open standards, arguing that the company has subverted the voluntary nature of internet standards to maintain control over its ecosystem. It draws parallels between software vendor power and state power, suggesting that Apple's high-modernist approach to standards erodes the foundational commitments of internet standards bodies. The piece explores how deeply embedded control chokepoints in software give vendors like Apple disproportionate power over end-users and even governments, and warns that this undermines the tools users could otherwise employ against the totalizing power of native apps.