Arizona considering law that could help Fortnite Epic maker remake Apple and Google app stores

Amid Apple and Google’s legal battles with Fortnite maker Epic Games on the future of how their app stores workArizona lawmakers on Wednesday brought forward proposed rules that could turn this debate upside down and change how apps work on iPhones and Android devices.

The state bill, if passed and enacted, would force app store operators like Apple and Google to relax their rules around payment processing, an increasingly controversial topic between the giants of technology and the big developers who build popular apps on their platforms.

Instead, Arizona-based companies with over a million downloads per year would be allowed to choose alternative payment systems when users sign up for a subscription or purchase a digital item such as a new look for their character or multiple puzzle trials. Currently, Apple and Google require developers to use their payment processing services, which charge up to 30% commissions, a practice Epic says is monopolistic. two lawsuits filed against companies.

The new law, which would only apply to Arizona-based businesses, has yet to pass the Arizona State Senate and be signed by Gov. Doug Ducey before it becomes law.

The Coalition for App Fairness, which supports the bill, said in a statement that it would “encourage business innovation in Arizona and protect consumer choice” if passed.

Epic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple and Google declined to comment. Apple has referred to previous testimonials, while Google has highlighted previous statements about how its products help businesses.

Apple argued that the commissions help fund the development and operation of its app stores and the iOS software that powers the iPhone and iPad.

Whether the law goes into effect or not, this is the last way states enter political and legal debates in the tech industry. Rather than wait for federal law or new regulations, states are considering or have adopted a growing set of rules for how the tech industry handles privacy, environmental matters, and now finances as well.

Illinois has one of the toughest facial recognition laws in the country and last month helped one of the largest class action settlements in history, with a payment of $ 650 million from Facebook. Washington state in 2018 was the nation’s first pass net neutrality laws, just a few months after the Federal Communications Commission canceled them. Massachusetts voters in 2020 passed one of the nation’s first right to repair laws, forcing automakers to allow customers to access vehicle data. And now Arizona is considering its bill as well.

For big tech companies, this represents another way of dealing with growing efforts to contain them. After decades of operating with little oversight, tech companies are forced to defend their actions – or lack thereof – on how they manage their social media, control access to their devices, or deal with competition. And in many cases, these growing calls for technology regulation are something the two main parties in the country agree on. President Joe Biden even this week expressed his support for organizing efforts at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama.

“Companies that were once rebellious startups and outsiders challenging the status quo have become the kind of monopolies we last saw in the age of oil barons and railroad tycoons,” he said. wrote the US House Judiciary Committee in a scathing 449-page report last year. . “While these companies have brought clear benefits to society, the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google comes at a price.”

It’s also a sign that whatever legal battles tech companies are fighting over antitrust complaints, the issues themselves won’t go away when the lawsuits come to an end.

In Arizona, the bill still has some hurdles to negotiate before it becomes law, but lawmakers have made it clear that more regulation will likely follow.

“The status quo is failing the Arizonans, forcing us to pay exorbitant prices. It is the entrepreneurs who fail, who are forced to overcome obstacles just to provide products to their customers. In fact, the only people who seem to benefit from this setup are the monopolies – Apple and Google, ”Arizona House representatives wrote. Regina Cobb and Leo Biasiucci in an opinion piece published by the Arizona Capitol Times last month. “While DC remains on its hands, we are taking action now to challenge Big Tech’s monopoly.”