SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The US state of Arizona on
Wednesday advanced a bill that would break the cherished grip that Apple and
Google have on the handling of payments in mobile apps.
Apple and Google require developers to use their payment systems for
transactions at their online shops for mobile apps, services, and digital
goods, taking a bite of 30 percent or less of transactions as commission.
The tech giants behind rival iOS and Android mobile operating systems
maintain the commission is an industry norm and fair compensation for running
trustworthy online shops where developers can prosper.
The bite of transactions has been hotly criticized, though, by developers
such as Fortnite maker Epic Games and streaming music service Spotify.
“That the bill successfully passed is proof that there is a growing desire
to rein in the power of the Big Tech companies that hold sway over key areas
of commerce,” said Pat Garofalo, director of US nonprofit State and Local
Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project.
“Small businesses exist at the whims of platform monopolies that can
arbitrarily crush them overnight, with no warning or recourse, if they don’t
agree to turn over a significant cut of their revenue in order to access
their own customers.”
The Arizona bill, which has a long way to go before becoming law in that
state, would bar major app stores from using a particular payment system for
transactions.
While the App Store is the sole gateway for digital content onto Apple
devices, users of Android smartphones or tablets can download apps from
online venues other than the Play shop run by Google.
Apple chief compliance officer Kyle Andeer had urged Arizona legislators
not to pass the bill.
The App Store enables developers to craft an app in their home, then
connect with customers around the world, Andeer said in remarks provided by
Apple.
“The app economy has boomed as a result,” Andeer told legislators.
“We should be celebrating these successes, not tearing them down.”
About 83 percent of software Arizona developers at the App Store pay no
commissions to Apple, and most of those who do pay 15 percent not the 30
percent required for some types of transactions, according to Andeer.
“This bill tells Apple that it cannot use its own check-out lane (and
collect a commission) in the store we built,” Andeer said.
“The bill is a government mandate that Apple give away the App Store.”
Similar bills have been introduced in a handful of other US states,
including Illinois and New York, according to Garofalo.