In a big win for Apple, the North Dakota State Senate has rejected a bill made by Epic Games lobbyists that would have forced Apple to allow users to download iOS apps on the iPhone without going through the App Store. Like Google allows third-party app stores and apk file installation, the lobbyists wanted a similar thing for iPhones as well.
The lawmakers voted the bill 11-36 and was listed as “do not pass”. However, this may be a small win for Apple as similar bills may be considered in regions like Georgia and Arizona. The fight between Apple and Epic Games is not nearing to end. Both the companies will go on trial on May 3, 2021 in California district court.
The fight between Apple and Epic Games heated up when Apple kicked out Fortnite game from the App Store, last year in August, for violating policies after Epic Games started using its own payment system.
What did the bill propose
The bill that got rejected proposed that platforms made by Apple and other companies whose “cumulative gross receipts from sales” from apps exceed ten million dollars in the state of North Dakota may not “require an app developer to use Apple’s (or other company) distribution platform (like App Store) as the exclusive mode of distributing a digital product. In other words, if this bill would have been passed, then developers could have bypassed Apple’s in-app payment system and also distribute iOS app without joining Apple’s App Store.
The bill also wanted that companies like Apple cannot “retaliate against a developer for choosing to use an alternative application store or in-application payment system.”

Why it’s important for you
Every iPhone user knows that the only legit way to get an iOS app on their iPhone is by downloading it from the App Store and pay via Apple’s in-app payment setting. If the bill would have been allowed, then it would have let developers bypass Apple completely and deliver apps to iPhone users. While the lobbyist may debate that it’s monopolistic behaviour by Apple to strictly control app developers, for the end users it may be seen as a blessing in disguise simply because it safeguards iPhone users from rogue apps, malware and privacy issues.
When compared to Android, while the open nature has helped the platform grow immensely we can’t deny that it has allowed entry to countless rogue developers and apps. If the bill, similar to this, gets enforced then using an iPhone will change forever.