The North Dakota Senate this week introduced a new bill that would prevent Apple and Google from requiring developers to use those app stores and payment methods, paving the way for alternative app store options, reports Tribune Bismarck (via The Verge).
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According to Senator Kyle Davison, who introduced Senate Bill 2333 yesterday, the legislation is designed to “balance the conditions of competition” for North Dakota app developers and protect customers from “devastating, monopolistic taxes imposed by large companies.” technology ”, which refers to the cuts that Apple and Google take from developers.
Specifically, the bill would prevent Apple from requiring a developer to use a digital application distribution platform as the sole way to distribute a digital product and would prevent the company from requiring developers to use in-app purchases as an exclusive way to accept payment. from a user. There is also a wording that prevents Apple from retaliating against developers who choose alternative distribution and payment methods.
Apple’s chief privacy engineer, Erik Neuenschwander, spoke out against the bill, saying it “threatens to destroy the iPhone as you know it” by calling for changes that would “undermine the privacy, security, safety and performance” of iPhone.
Neuenschwander said Apple was “working hard” to keep bad apps in the App Store, and the North Dakota bill “will require us to let them in.”
Apple does not allow the installation of apps on iOS devices outside the “App Store” and there are no alternative options for the app store available. Apple reviews every application made available to its customers to download it, which would not happen with a third-party application store option.
Also, Apple does not allow application developers to accept payments by methods other than in-app purchases, except for selected situations, a policy that led to Apple’s legal battle with Epic Games. PEpic Games added an alternative payment method to Fortnite last year, which led to a ban on the app in the “App Store”.
Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson, who was also involved in a legal battle with Apple over the “HEY” email application last year, testified in favor of SB 2333 and said it gave him hope that “technology monopolies they will not rule the world forever. “
SB 2333 in North Dakota is the first real and concrete legislative proposal I’ve seen, which actually gives me hope that technology monopolies won’t rule the world forever. Fargo or Bismarck sounds like great places to shop under an abuse shield 😂😍 – DHH (@dhh) February 9, 2021
In 2020, Apple faced a US antitrust investigation into its fees and policies, the App Store, which led to a 450-page report calling for new antitrust laws focused on promoting fair competition in digital markets, strengthening laws related to mergers and monopolization and the restoration of strong oversight and enforcement of antitrust law.
No federal legislation has been introduced so far, and the North Dakota Senate committee has not taken action on the bill. Senator Jerry Klein said there was “still something to be done” about the bill.