BRUSSELS – Today, the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) announced The European Digital SME Alliance, Uptodown, and the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) are joining the fight for freedom of choice for consumers and fair competition for developers across the mobile app ecosystem. Each of these new members joins the coalition at a pivotal moment for the European digital ecosystem, with implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) set for March, 2024.
The Digital SME Alliance represents more than 45,000 small and medium enterprises across 30 national and regional associations in the European Union and nearby countries. Uptodown is an alternative app store with a base of over 100 million active users per month from all over the world, offering over 400,000 published apps from more than 80,000 developers. EGDF is the unified voice of European game developers, representing more than 2,500 developers in the EU.
“Mobile app store monopolies pose a direct threat to the thousands of small and medium enterprises we represent, and we’re proud to join CAF in the fight for a truly fair, competitive mobile app ecosystem,” said Dr. Oliver Grün, President of The European Digital SME Alliance. “By restricting competition in their respective app stores, Apple and Google undercut opportunities for small and medium businesses to thrive in the mobile app ecosystem, which is bad for consumers across Europe and beyond.”
“As an app store, we have extensive, first-hand experience with Apple’s and Google’s anti-competitive policies,” said Luis Hernandez Garrido, Co-Founder and CEO of Uptodown. “We are firmly aligned with CAF’s mission to create a free and fair mobile app ecosystem. We are joining the coalition now, because effective DMA implementation will be absolutely critical to thousands of businesses and millions of consumers across Europe.”
“Ensuring fair access to digital markets controlled by gatekeeper platforms is a core to our mission,” said Jari-Pekka Kaleva, Managing Director of EGDF. “We joined CAF now because the European digital ecosystem is at a pivotal juncture. Effective implementation of the DMA is critically important to the thousands of game developers across Europe and the players they serve. We’re proud to join this fight at such an important time for the entire European digital ecosystem.”
“The European Digital SME Alliance, Uptodown, and EGDF each bring unique perspectives to our coalition and we are proud to stand alongside them as we advocate for effective DMA implementation,” said Rick VanMeter, Executive Director of the Coalition for App Fairness. “Together, we will continue to hold Big Tech accountable and support policies that spur innovation and protect consumers across Europe and the world.”
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The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Tile, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to over 70 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.