This analysis was first published in SvD Näringsliv, in Swedish, on April 8th, 2022.

Apple’s new report shows how other companies beat them in several app categories. But it isn’t newfound humility behind it — rather, it’s an established strategy to try to shape the legislation that threatens to upend their business model.

Being a tech giant in 2022 can’t be the easiest thing. Several ongoing lawsuits and new legislation aim to rein in the power they’ve built. And Apple has definitely had to spend more time in the legal spotlight than it would have liked.

In situations like these it can be useful to have others speak on your behalf. In the high-profile trial between Epic Games and Apple over payment systems in the App Store, Morgan Reed, head of ACT, filed a statement a week or so ago. ACT is often called “The App Association” — a kind of umbrella body for app developers. Reed wrote the following:

“The problem with Epic’s case was, from the start, that they plainly ignored small developers. […] If the billionaires’ club wants to fight among themselves, that’s fine, but don’t force changes on smaller developers that only benefit the biggest players.”

That sounds good, of course — who wants to squeeze small businesses? But there’s an aggravating factor around ACT. It has to do with who pays for ACT’s existence. On that list you’ll find billion-dollar companies like Intel, AT&T, and — yes — Apple.

There’s therefore every reason to look more closely at both the motive and the content of the new report that has just been released. It says, admittedly, that the conclusions are those of the report’s authors, but the consulting firm Analysis Group has, in fact, been paid by Apple to write it. The document shows, among other things, how app developers like Spotify and Netflix are used more often than Apple’s own equivalents, Apple Music and Apple TV.

It’s not a sudden humility that has come over the giant from Cupertino, but rather worry about the new law making its way through the EU machinery — the Digital Markets Act, DMA. The legislative package has finished negotiation and is expected to pass later this year.

When it does, the tech giants will no longer be able to favour their own products on their platforms. That would mean, for example, that Google can’t put its own shopping service at the top of the search results page. And that Apple can’t prioritise its own apps over competitors in searches or in other ways.

Seen in this light, it’s logical that Apple wants to get a report like this one out. Monopoly tendencies, you say? Here you can read that Apple’s own apps often have much lower usage than their competitors. Favouring your own products doesn’t necessarily lead to higher use of them, and there’s plenty of healthy competition in the market.

Attempts to shape legislation through reports like these are not unusual. And they can have a much bigger role than just with the DMA. It’s also about trying to influence legislation in other countries. European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager, who has been in large part the architect behind the DMA, tweeted this past summer about her meeting with Lina Khan — the new head of the FTC, the US competition authority. The US is now behind with legislation on the tech giants, and it’s likely they’re looking across the Atlantic for inspiration.

So it’s not too late to influence both politicians and public opinion on the substance. And Apple and the tech giants have a few aces left in their sleeves.

Earlier EU legislation that touched on tech issues, like GDPR, wasn’t met with much enthusiasm. No one — companies or lawmakers — wants to see a similar law in the US. There are calls to handle data and privacy differently, but GDPR is unlikely to serve as the template for that.

In addition, the DMA has been criticised for primarily hitting American companies. The criteria for falling under the DMA don’t mention geographic origin, but when you look at which companies are in scope, they are almost exclusively American. The US Chamber of Commerce went as far as calling the legislative package “de facto discrimination” against companies headquartered in the US.

At a time when the tech giants more and more often paint Chinese companies as their main competitors, it could be hard to legislate in a way that might be seen as hitting American competitiveness in the world.

Last year, the tech companies spent more than $90 million — SEK 850 million — on lobbying in Washington alone. A record amount, and more than the equivalent figure for the auto industry.

So they can also afford to produce plenty of reports, from themselves and others, that show off their own excellence. They can nuance things a little, perhaps, but the legislation on Big Tech is here to stay. After more than 20 years in a lawless land, they’re going to need to get used to it.