Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’
And they should. We are fast approaching a world where all markets are walled-in by a few international companies. I&#x27;ve had clients of mine go under because Amazon decided to close their accounts and they depend on the platform to sell their wares. Imagine how hard it is to sell stuff online if you&#x27;re barred from ebay and amazon... and there is no legal recourse to appeal those bans.<p>Same goes for app stores, what happens if google and apple ban you for whatever reason? Your company is screwed and you have no appeal or legal safeguards.<p>I&#x27;m scared shitless of &quot;gig economy&quot; platforms. I see a future where one or two platforms rise to the top and all jobs are handled through them. A bad rating can destroy your entire career. The platform will never forget, there will be no second chances.<p>Scary stuff. We as a society need to start thinking about how we rate people. Right now we all shop for that 5-star rating and punish anyone with 4. We need to mature beyond that as it grows increasingly impossible to maintain perfect ratings.<p>Regulation is a very very touchy subject, but if millions of people depend on your platform for their livelihood, you can&#x27;t pretend to still exert arbitrary power of life and death over them with some $5&#x2F;hr customer service drone trying to go over your case swiftly to meet a daily quota. We need real due process.