Unethical payment methods and conditions of tech giants

dhruvtalksstech
Nov 26, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2022

I am a frequent web surfer who relies upon getting everything done through the use of the internet and apps. But I feel there is an increasing need for regulation when it comes to payment methods offered by tech and e-commerce giants like Apple, Google, Amazon, Flipkart, and Microsoft. The increasing monopoly of tech giants stifles healthy competition and renders newcomers and start-ups hopeless. This is not what Tech giants are supposed to do. They are supposed to be inclusive and provide resources and help to those who do not have enough of it. All the companies listed in this blog have been accused of bad market practices several times. We have got to remember that their founders were often called "the most ruthless people on the planet".

Often when trying out new services, we get the option of a free trial for a stipulated time period which the majority of people opt for. But at the same time, they ask for our bank details mostly credit card details from which they deduct money automatically after the free trial ends. This not only often leads to unwanted deductions from our bank account to the company but it is a security threat in itself as they have access to crucial information of our banks which can be exploited by them and in some cases even be sold to third-party brokers which is something tech giants have been doing for a long time and it is an open secret. The IT ministry has been slow to react to this and take strict action. Tech giants have become so big that they feel that they are invincible and above the law.

Apple is moving away from a solely product-oriented company and is increasingly focusing on its services as well because Apple users hold onto their products longer than anyone else in the industry by a long shot. This is not a coincidence but rather Apple intentionally designed its products to be this way. Apple has also been using its dominant position to aggressively promote services such as Apple Pay. As the product market becomes saturated, tech giants are also turning to ads and Apple is no exception.

We should take inspiration from the United States Senate which has started taking strict actions against offenders which America earlier refrained from doing because it hurts capitalism. But as history tells us, companies and individuals with immense power, wealth, and influence exploit consumers and also service providers. Instead of mandating us to enter our banking details, they can simply terminate the free trial period after it ends without us having to set a reminder and doing it ourselves the day before it ends so that money is not deducted from our accounts and also so that it does not subscribe us to a service that is unsolicited. In a world where technology is supposed to bring us closer and together, it is acting as a medium of division and is increasing the gap between the privileged and the unprivileged. All of this is really concerning and prompts people to reconsider what they share and allow on their devices that seem to control our lives. a

Examples of such situations are - Apple Music, Amazon Prime, Microsoft Office Package, and several more by big and small companies alike. I hope that your newspaper takes my concern into consideration and does what is necessary by urging both Government and citizens alike to take vital stern actions. Progress has been visible in the EU and in the American state of California which have some of the strictest privacy laws in the world and we should all take inspiration from them. Apple is notoriously known for taking a 30% cut from all the payments that a user makes from an app available on the App Store. Apple's practices always try to limit the exposure of its competition and often charge high fees for its services which many small businesses are not able to afford.

Spotify has also come out speaking against Apple on this. A recent WSJ also found that Spotify now prompts users who want to buy its premium services to make the payment using the web on iPhones because that allows them to get around Apple's unjustified 30% concession ask. This is the reason that the same service may cost more on an iPhone than it does on any Android device because companies have to offset costs in one way or another. Apple knows that its customers are better positioned and more likely than their Android friends to spend money on services and that is why Apple does not cut slack to exploit its biggest advantage. All of these companies want to replace banks as the default credit and debit cards and they know they can do it because of the UI, ease of use, and universality.