That's a great way to put it. Absent government bans on a bunch of the bad behavior Apple outlaws in its store, I'd really rather keep the choice of selecting Apple's "users' union".
When spying on users and hoarding the resulting data is illegal, and anti-fraud laws and truth-in-advertising laws and laws mandating a standard interface for subscription management exist or are much better-enforced, then, sure, let's grab the torches and pitchforks and burn down the App Store. Meanwhile, I'm paying Apple to be my private regulation agency, backed by their sheer size (as a company, and of their market) to prevent companies and developers from simply refusing to do business with them (and so, not forcing, but strongly encouraging them to provide me with regulation-compliant products and services).
When spying on users and hoarding the resulting data is illegal, and anti-fraud laws and truth-in-advertising laws and laws mandating a standard interface for subscription management exist or are much better-enforced, then, sure, let's grab the torches and pitchforks and burn down the App Store. Meanwhile, I'm paying Apple to be my private regulation agency, backed by their sheer size (as a company, and of their market) to prevent companies and developers from simply refusing to do business with them (and so, not forcing, but strongly encouraging them to provide me with regulation-compliant products and services).