{"id":30231,"date":"2020-09-24T16:06:38","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T20:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=30231"},"modified":"2020-10-09T14:39:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T18:39:50","slug":"coalition-for-app-fairness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/24\/coalition-for-app-fairness\/","title":{"rendered":"Coalition for App Fairness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coalition for App Fairness<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>, MacRumors<\/a>):<\/p>\n

The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization founded by industry-leading companies to advocate for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

App Store Principles<\/a>:<\/p>\n

  1. No developer should be required to use an app store exclusively, or to use ancillary services of the app store owner, including payment systems, or to accept other supplementary obligations in order to have access to the app store.<\/li>\n
  2. No developer should be blocked from the platform or discriminated against based on a developer’s business model, how it delivers content and services, or whether it competes in any way with the app store owner.<\/li>\n
  3. Every developer should have timely access to the same interoperability interfaces and technical information as the app store owner makes available to its own developers.<\/li>\n
  4. Every developer should always have access to app stores as long as its app meets fair, objective and nondiscriminatory standards for security, privacy, quality, content, and digital safety.<\/li><\/ol><\/blockquote>\n\n

    Good luck with #3.<\/p>\n\n

    30% “App Tax”<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    Apple first introduced the 30% fee on apps in 2011, which forced many apps to go completely out of business. Treehouse, an online training platform, developed a reading-based app, iFlow Reader, which was one of many that fell victim to the imposed new tax. “Apple just dropped a nuclear bomb on all of us,” Treehouse declared publicly, stating that the “draconian new rules” had made it “impossible for anyone but Apple to sell books at a profit on iOS.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

    It’s important to remind people that, contra Tim Cook’s testimony<\/a>, the fee has not been the same since the beginning of the App Store. It has been applied to more apps and services over time.<\/p>\n\n

    Consumer Freedom<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    The idea that a consumer could only use software sold through the same manufacturer as their laptop seems ludicrous. Except that’s exactly the rule Apple has imposed on the personal devices in billions of pockets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

    Florian Mueller<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n

    Here’s an overview of the founding members of the Coalition for App Fairness[…]<\/p>\n

    […]<\/p>\n

    The diversity of those companies and their interests may appear to be a strength, but it will presumably be a challenge for them to agree on anything other than the benefits to them of reducing Apple's and Google's app distribution fees. That's because their business models are so different.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    Marco Arment<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n

    I don’t think I’ll be joining the Coalition for App Fairness because I don’t like other people speaking for me, but I’m glad these big companies are forming a stronger counterforce to the App Store’s policies than any of us could create on our own[…]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    Also, one of the founding members is Blix, which has a history<\/a> of sketchy behavior.<\/p>\n\n

    Previously:<\/p>\n