Apple Inc is refusing to testify at the upcoming U.S. Senate conference on competition issues related to mobile app stores, leaders of both sides of the team said on Friday.
App makers have long accused the Apple Store of iPhones and iPads, as well as the Google Play Store for Android devices, of engaging in anti-competitive behavior by demanding certain cash payments and imposing strict installation rules. A small committee was scheduled to be heard in late April but no date has been set.
Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Mike Lee, a Republican, said they had written to Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Friday urging the company to reconsider.
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“More than two weeks before the trial, Apple abruptly announced that it would not provide evidence,” the letter said. “Apple’s sudden change in his reluctance to testify … is unacceptable.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple and game developer Epic Games are set to split over the issue in a lawsuit filed in May 3 in California.
A Koobuchar spokesman did not immediately comment on whether Google or other companies had agreed to testify at the planned conference.
Google has agreed to testify at the hearing, a source said. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
