New North Dakota bill would force Apple to allow alternative app stores and payment systems

▤ Summary

Davison said the 30 percent fee imposed on app developers who sell software through Apple and Google’s marketplaces has the effect of “raising prices and limiting choices for consumers.” The bill is quite simple and lays out three key restrictions for any “digital application distribution platform” that exceeds $10 million in annual revenue. “The purpose of the bill is to level the playing field for app developers.” The Epic case is just one part of a growing antitrust movement in the US that’s taken aim at Big Tech. Every one of the major US tech companies, save Microsoft, is currently under increased antitrust scrutiny from the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as state attorneys general, with various levels of investigations underway. The disagreement centered on the functions of the Hey iOS email app, and Hansson and Basecamp CEO Jason Fried complained that the situation was emblematic of Apple’s inconsistently applied rules and the lengths the company goes to ensure developers are not sidestepping the 30 percent cut mandate. “That you will listen to the small software developers from all over the country, who are tired of being bullied and shaken down by a handful of big tech monopolists out of Seattle and Silicon Valley.” Hansson says the US needs a “fair digital marketplace free of monopoly abuse” and that “no single change will have a greater impact than giving small software makers like us a choice when it comes to in-app payment systems, and protection from retaliation, if we refuse the onerous deal the monopolists are offering.” Chairman Sen. Jerry Klein (R-Fessenden) said during the committee hearing that “there’s still some mulling to be done” and that no action would be taken on the bill as of yet.

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