Epic Games lobbyists have drafted legislation that will be heard in North Dakota this week, trying to prevent app stores owned by Apple and Google from reducing app sales, according to a report this weekend. New York Times.
Bill 2333 of the Senate, presented to the North Dakota Senate last week, seeks to prevent large digital storefronts, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, from forcing developers to distribute apps exclusively through their storefronts, or to use their payment systems exclusively. It also aims to prevent the companies behind these showcases from punishing developers who choose other distribution or payment methods. Epic is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the issue, taking both Apple and Google to court after both windows were banned. Fortnite when Epic introduced its own payment method in August last year, in protest against a 30% reduction in App Store sales. Times writes that the debate on the North Dakota bill began Monday and will be voted on this week.
Times reports that North Dakota Sen. Kyle Davison received “the bill from Lacee Bjork Anderson, an Odney Public Affairs lobbyist in Bismarck. Ms. Anderson said in an interview that she was hired by Epic Games, the maker of the popular game Fortnite. Anderson said: “It was also paid for by Coalition for the correctness of applications, ”A non-profit organization that includes Epic Games, along with other companies like Spotify and that search for “Proper treatment by these application stores and the owners of the platforms that operate them.”
Epic hired its first lobbyists in end of January, drawing people from both sides of the political corridor. Although it may seem independent for Epic to be behind the law, the US government has looked into large technological monopolies for a while. Times reports that several states are exploring bills similar to those in North Dakota or other measures that limit the power of these companies. While the bill, if passed, would apply only to companies operating in North Dakota and only to those with revenues of more than $ 10 million, it could change the way Apple and others carries out its activity. Times writes that Apple has pushed back against the law and “Apple’s chief privacy engineer, Erik Neuenschwander, has testified that the bill” threatens to destroy the iPhone as you know it. “
People with whom The Times the words are uncertain whether the bill will be approved.
Even if you don’t want to give it to Epic – and the company certainly is making it hard for them-Problems Fortnite the increase in cases exceeds if you can play a real cartoon fight on the phone. (If you’ve lost track: no, you still can’t.) The case, currently set to be tried in May, could benefit smaller developers and could be a blow to Apple’s dominance over mobile apps, if it will be in Epic favor. North Dakota legislation could be another tool in the Epic toolkit and yet another example of the company turning its desire to align its pockets into a moral crusade. In any case, it is more than just Fortnite.