Minnesota and Arizona Bills Aim to Let Developers Skirt Apple's In-App Purchase Rules

[warp9]

$99/year per developer for how many developers, plus ApplePay and IAP, me thinks that is not pocket change.

$2.8 billion/year in developer fees, or about 0.75% of total annual revenue.
$4 billion ApplePay revenue (not profit).
$64 billion from the app store.
In comparison, AWS made $40 billion revenue last year.

And I'll state it again: ApplePay is only one choice among many you can use for Apple goods and services. They are not forcing anybody to use any particular payment method.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Stomping on McDonald's to force them to offer the McRib and Shamrock Shake year round?

McRib is gross, but Shamrock Shakes should be year a round! :-D

 

[Alan Wynn]

Hilarious Conservatives micro managing business. Next they will tell businesses what kind of cakes they can or cannot bake. Or is it hypocrisy?

Sorry, the Minnesota representative is a member of the Democratic Farm Labor party, a far left offshoot of the Democratic Party. Not what I would call a conservative.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Apple's monopoly is going to fall and that day can't come soon enough.

Apple does not have a monopoly in any reasonably defined market. Apple has less than 20% of the mobile phone market in most places and in the U.S. hovers around 50%. That means there is healthy competition in that market.

 

[Alan Wynn]

This is the point I'm addressing. Why is this a bad thing on iOS but is okay with macOS?

I think things would be better on macOS had it been required there as well, but it is not so not much I can do about it. Given a choice, I always purchase through the Mac App Store. Minimizing the security and privacy problems created by the software distribution model of macOS would be awesome.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Or a Windows phone... that has no apps. Where’s Windows phone now? That’s what happens when your OS has no apps. See why Apple needs app developers so much?

Windows phone died because they had no companies selling the product. Quite simply.

 

[vicviper789]

Then develop and promote your app for something other than the iOS devices.

When the only two options are Android and iOS, there are no other choices, bub 😉.

 

[armhol]

„Lobbying„ is such a weird practice

It is legalized bribery! Only in America!

 

[Alan Wynn]

As an apple customer or observer if one has a philosophical dislike as to the fees one can take their business elsewhere.

It’s similar to questioning target As to what their stocking fees are.

I think they are called slotting fees.

 

[Alan Wynn]

“And how it should remain” lmao some of the people in these threads are total nutjobs trying to defend leach- I mean middle men.

I want the choice of promoting my app hosted on my server without fear of being censored or having to hand over 1/3rd of my earnings

No problem at all. Sell it on Android or sell it as a web app. No risk either way.

 

[Alan Wynn]

When the only two options are Android and iOS, there are no other choices, bub 😉.

Linux Phones are also available, as are Android OSP devices.

 

[MJaP]

So if this passes every app developer will suddenly register a head office in Minnesota then.

 

[I7guy]

Ah yes, the $2T-market-cap mega-corporation has consumers’ best interests in mind.

Holy ****, hahaha.

Sure, from a design and function perspective, makes sense.

 

[Captain Trips]

When the only two options are Android and iOS, there are no other choices, bub 😉.

Then go for Android only. By your own admission that is another choice, bub.

 

[Forti]

Do they plan to pay for the server resources to host the games? Fortnite was free on the App Store, IAPs was the only way Apple was profiting from it. You don't sell your product in a physical store and expect to do so for free, no, the store gets a cut too. It's just how life works (and how it should remain).

Actually you wrong.
1. apple takes profil from devices (iPhone, iPads etc.)
2. apple takes profil from 1-year developer account ($99)

Everything is about choice - developer want to have a choice to offer users another ways to pay, just like they can offer another than AppleID ways to login.

e.g. developer could offer in-app purchase via Apple Pay and others. It could be up to users what they want to use. (apple could force developers to not rising price when user want to use Apple Pay).

 

[Palmlag]

Do these politicians know what they are talking about at all? How are they looking out for citizens by trying to expose those who put them in office for exploitation by crooked operators?

 

[sentiblue]

Is it just me? Or there are other people out there who think FB/Gg/Epic are pushing politicians around the country to come up with state level legislations to bypass Apple's inapp purchase regulations? I think this is a pathetic and stupid way to undermine someone's business.

Every time there's a new proposed legislation, we know there's a new politician who got his pocket lined up with big techs.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Maybe we should. Maybe we should "wallstreetbets" the government and buy up enough politicians to shut down these pre-communism rumblings for good.

I remember a story of a guy that won the lottery, and 'bought' a politician to change the vote of a local issue. The politician actually voted the way the guy wanted him to, mocking the 'cash and carry' Congress.

 

[Mojohanna32]

Do they plan to pay for the server resources to host the games? Fortnite was free on the App Store, IAPs was the only way Apple was profiting from it. You don't sell your product in a physical store and expect to do so for free, no, the store gets a cut too. It's just how life works (and how it should remain).

Apple can rename the fee and call it a cloud storage and hosting fee. Seems people are getting hung up on the term “commission”.

 

[Rob_2811]

Apple can rename the fee and call it a cloud storage and hosting fee. Seems people are getting hung up on the term “commission”.

30% for cloud storage and hosting fees. Might as well refer to it as the 'magic beans' fee

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

McRib is gross, but Shamrock Shakes should be year a round! :-D

A friend of mine in high school used to call them 'Shamjock shakes' because the mix 'smelled like jocks', according to him and several others. Eww... But they were cool. They changed the recipe a number of years ago. Not the same.

I remember running into a 'sample market' at the McDonald's in Chicago in the 80's. It was the McRib, and it was largely pork, with the meat pressed to look like actual small ribs. They were delicious. I had one a couple years ago (don't remember how long) and it was gross. I didn't finish it. Just yuck... But it was cool to get 'the first taste' of the McRib. It started out well...

 

[Jason2000]

"...force Apple and Google to keep products from Minnesotan developers on their app stores even if those developers sell them directly or through other channels, skirting current in-app purchase rules."

This part really stinks. Apple should not be forced to sell a developers app if that developer has other options to sell.

 

[I7guy]

30% for cloud storage and hosting fees. Might as well refer to it as the 'magic beans' fee

Unlike loan rates, there is no law limiting the fees and commissions. Now a law could be made making it illegal to charge over x percent, but that would affect the entire industry.

 

[Rob_2811]

Unlike loan rates, there is no law limiting the fees and commissions. Now a law could be made making it illegal to charge over x percent, but that would affect the entire industry.

Not really, nobody is talking about loan rates. This is just seeking to obfuscate and muddy the waters

As per the original article the recommendations set out by the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee are proposing specific new antitrust laws to address the anticompetitive behaviour of big tech.

Much of Apples practices are firmly in the crosshairs of those proposals.

 

[deevey]

When will these Lawmakers ever learn ?

Apple's "cut" is ONLY a part of the problem, & it's NOT the biggest part !

Apple has a Complete & Total Stranglehold on App Discovery !!

If third-party App Stores were allowed, NON-Game Apps would flourish BIG time !

Very specifically, the existing App Store does fine for Game Apps, with the primary gripe of such App Devs being Apple's cut.

For App Devs OUTSIDE of Games, & especially those who have High-Tech NON-Game Apps, it's a real challenge.

Here, App Discovery is by-far the biggest issue !

If third-party App Stores were allowed, they could & would promote / recommend apps that Apple never does !

Tim Cook's time as CEO is very likely coming to an end.

With lack of innovation being the key reason.

The existing App Store is mostly for the Young & the Dumb !

Apple needs a 2nd App Store, focused on Apps for Adults !

If Apple doesn't get there, third-party App Stores will (soon) !

I don't have a problem with finding Apps - can you be more specific ?