After a failed bill was proposed in North Dakota earlier this month that would have forced Apple to allow developers to sideload apps and use alternative payments within the app, a similar bill was officially introduced in Minnesota .
Arizona introduced similar legislation this week and now Minnesota has also followed in North Dakota’s footsteps. Notably, the anti-App Store bill in the latter state was not passed in a 36-11 vote last week.
Reported by StarTribune, the new Minnesota bill introduced last week aims to reform the power of Apple and Google to remove apps from their stores:
The proposal – introduced quietly last week – would force the two tech giants to keep products from Minnesota developers in their app stores, even if those developers sell them directly or through other channels.
Here’s what the project sponsor, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids had to say:
“Many people are concerned about the increase in influence and power that Big Tech has, and I think there is a lot of interest in trying to ensure that we have a fair and open digital economy,” said Representative Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, who is sponsoring the bill in the Chamber.
Apple and Google did not comment on the matter, but StarTribune said they were both lobbying against the Minnesota project.
Apple did not return a request for comment on this story, while Google declined to comment on Minnesota law. But both groups are lobbying privately for lawmakers to oppose the move.
One of the allies of Apple and Google here is the group “Americans for Prosperity:”
Jason Flohrs, American state director for Minnesota Prosperity, said there are privacy and security concerns about allowing other payment processing providers to enter the app store, and the group is fundamentally opposed to any legislation where the government is trying to impose a “mandate on private companies. “
It probably won’t be long before we figure out how Minnesota and Arizona lawmakers will vote on the new bills, and there will almost certainly be more states doing the same soon.
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