After a failed bill was introduced in North Dakota earlier this month that would force Apple to allow developers to download apps and use alternative payments in the app, a similar bill was officially introduced in Minnesota.
Arizona just introduced similar legislation this week and now Minnesota has also followed in North Dakota’s footsteps. It is noteworthy that the anti-App Store bill in the latter state did not pass in a 36-11 vote last week.
According to StarTribune, the new bill introduced in Minnesota last week is aimed at reforming Apple and Google’s power to remove apps from their stores:
The proposal – which was quietly introduced last week – would force the two tech giants to keep Minnesota developers’ products in their app stores, even if the developers sell them directly or through other channels.
Here’s what DFL-Coon Rapids lawmaker Zack Stephenson had to say:
“A lot of people are concerned about the greater influence and power that Big Tech has, and I think there’s a lot of interest in trying to make sure we have a fair and open digital economy,” Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL- Coon Rapids, who sponsors the bill in the House.
Apple and Google have not commented on the matter, but the StarTribune said they are both in the middle of lobbying against the Minnesota bill.
Apple did not return a request for comment for this story, while Google declined to comment on Minnesota’s legislation. But both groups are lobbying for individual legislators to oppose the measure.
One of Apple and Google’s allies here is the group “Americans for Prosperity:”
Jason Flohrs, Minnesota’s state director of Americans for Prosperity, said there were concerns about the privacy and security of allowing other payment processors in the app store, and the group was fundamentally opposed to any legislation where the government sought place on private enterprises. ”
It will probably not be too long before we find out how lawmakers in Minnesota and Arizona will vote on the new bills, and that there will soon be more states doing the same.
FTC: We use revenue to earn automatically affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: