Arizona lawmakers only passed an anti-monopoly bill in a vote from 31 to 29, which could have big implications for Apple, Google and, strangely, Fifteen days.
Arizona House Bill HB2005 “It restricts the ability of certain digital application distribution platforms to require the use of a specific payment system in the application.” (You can read the text of the bill on here.) This restriction applies to digital application distribution platforms such as the iOS App Store and Google Play, and any other distribution platform that exceeds 1 million cumulative downloads in a single calendar year.
It also prohibits distribution platforms from requiring Arizona-based application developers to use “a specific in-app payment system as the sole method of accepting payments” Therefore, Apple’s requirement that all in-app purchases must go through its Payment processing mechanism itself would no longer apply to developers like Epic Games and others who wish to give their customers a direct payment option.
If the project becomes state law, companies like Apple and Google would also be prohibited from retaliating against developers for using an in-app payment system other than their own. In the case of Epic Games, Apple and Google removed Fifteen days of your respective app stores because Epic added a direct payment method, which violated Apple and Google’s terms of service for developers.
“Bills like the one approved by Arizona House today would help address the range of damage that guardians like Apple and Google pose to small businesses, entrepreneurs, consumers and local communities,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at American Economic Liberties Project, on a press release today. “The fact that the bill has been successfully passed is proof that there is a growing desire to control the power of the big technology companies that control key areas of commerce.”
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Ultimately, HB2005 would allow Arizona-based developers to bypass the “Apple Tax” or the 30% commission (or 15% for developers who earn less than $ 1 million a year) takes from every in-app purchase. How Gizmodo previously reported, Fifteen days generated $ 43.4 million in consumer spending on the App Store globally in July 2020. Undoubtedly, that number dropped dramatically after Apple removed Fifteen days from the App Store in August last year. California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled last October that Apple was legally authorized to maintain Fifteen days outside of your App Store.
The next hearing between Apple and Epic Games is scheduled for May 3, with Gonzalez Rogers presiding as judge again. According MacRumors, the case is set to happen in person this time, with special accommodations being made for witnesses who cannot travel due to covid-19 restrictions. Before the trial, Apple CEO Tim Cook will need to sit for 7– hourly disposition.
HB2005 has yet to be approved by the Arizona Senate and signed by Governor Doug Ducey before it becomes law, however, and it seems unlikely that this will happen before Apple and Epic are tried in two months. It is also unclear how exactly Arizona would enforce the law, which would almost certainly face a legal challenge if passed.