Epic Games lobbyists drafted legislation that will be heard in North Dakota this week, trying to prevent app stores from companies like Apple and Google from getting a reduction in app sales, according to a report over the weekend. The New York Times.
Senate Bill 2333, presented to the North Dakota Senate last week, aims to prevent large digital storefronts, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, from requiring developers to distribute applications exclusively through their storefronts, or use their payment systems exclusively. It also aims to prevent the companies behind these windows from punishing developers who choose other forms of distribution or payment. Epic is currently engaged in a legal battle over this matter, taking Apple and Google to court after both displays were banned. Fifteen days when epic entered their own payment method last August, in protest against the 30% cut in App Store sales. THE Times writes that the debate over the North Dakota bill began on Monday and will be voted on this week.
THE Times reports that North Dakota state senator Kyle Davison “received the bill from Lacee Bjork Anderson, a lobbyist for Odney Public Affairs in Bismarck. Anderson said in an interview that he was hired by Epic Games, creator of the popular game Fifteen days. “Anderson said,” she was also being paid for Coalition for App Fairness, ”A non-profit organization that includes Epic Games, alongside other companies like Spotify, and that search “Fair treatment by these app stores and the owners of the platform that operate them.”
Epic hired its first lobbyists in end of January, attracting people from both sides of the political corridor. While it may seem self-interest for Epic to be behind the legislation, the U.S. government is investigating great technology monopolies for a while. THE Times reports that several states are exploring bills similar to North Dakota or other measures that limit the power of these companies. Although the bill, if passed, applies only to companies operating in North Dakota, and only to those generating more than $ 10 million in revenue, it can change the way Apple and its peers do business. THE Times writes that Apple has been resisting legislation and “Apple’s chief privacy engineer, Erik Neuenschwander, testified that the bill ‘threatens to destroy the iPhone as you know it'”.
People with Times spoke is not sure if the project will be approved.
Even if you don’t want to turn it over to Epic – and the company certainly making it difficult—The issues that Fifteen days the cases raised go beyond the possibility of you playing a cartoon battle royale on your phone. (If you’ve lost control: no, you still can’t.) The case, currently set to go to trial in May, could benefit smaller developers and be a blow to Apple’s dominance over mobile apps if it is in Epic’s favor. North Dakota legislation could be another tool in Epic’s toolkit, and yet another example of the company turning its desire to align its pockets into one. moral crusade. But either way, it’s more than just Fifteen days.