Arizona Advances Bill That Will Let Developers Skirt Apple's In-App Purchase Rules

The Arizona House of Representatives today passed HB2005, a state bill that would provide developers with an alternative to Google and Apple's in-app purchase options by allowing developers to use their own payment solutions within apps.

app store blue banner
Last week, the Arizona House Committee advanced the bill, and now it has also been approved by the House of Representatives. It will next be heard by the Arizona Senate.


Apple and Google have been lobbying aggressively against the bill for weeks now because it would let developers use third-party payment options to avoid the 15 to 30 percent cut that Apple takes from app purchases an in-app payments.

In a hearing last week, Apple chief compliance officer Kyle Andeer called HB2005 a "government mandate that Apple give away the App Store."

"This would allow billion-dollar developers to take all of the app store's value for free, even if they're selling digital goods, even if they're making millions or billions of dollars doing it. The bill is a government mandate that Apple give away the app store."

Apple last month successfully fought back against a similar bill in North Dakota, which would have paved the way for third-party app store options.

Like the North Dakota bill, the Arizona bill was backed by the Coalition for App Fairness, a group that includes companies like Epic Games, Spotify, Basecamp, and Tile, all of whom have had significant issues with Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules. There's a similar bill in Minnesota that Apple is also battling against.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

GizmoDVD Avatar
34 months ago
Apple should just not allow Developers in arizona. Easy solution!

I like how game consoles are excluded for no apparent reason.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Goodeye Avatar
34 months ago
I hate my state some times.

WAY more important things to be working on and dealing with in this state and they are worried about this crap.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuffaloTF Avatar
34 months ago

Why would it hurt consumers? And of course it hurts developers they take 15- 30 % off of thin air because they say they “protect the store”
Sigh......

They don’t provide “nothing” for 15-30%. They provide payment processing, app review, certification, distribution (globally), tax payments (globally), tax documentation (globally), customer service support, advertising, API development, API services support...

The payment processing alone costs 25% in some countries in Asia and Latin America.

30% is a steal for what they get in return.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Freak Avatar
34 months ago
I hope it becomes obvious which developers choose to skirt app store rules so I know not to download apps from them ever.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G5isAlive Avatar
34 months ago

Apple should just not allow Developers in arizona. Easy solution!

I like how game consoles are excluded for no apparent reason.
The problem is this is going to be like incorporating a business in Delaware, the small sliver of land that somehow has 67% of all fortune 500 companies incorporating there, and countless smaller companies. Delaware has made itself a haven for anonymous incorporation, lower taxes, etc, so a number of companies regardless of where they do business, incorporate in Delaware. If this goes through you will see a lot of sham operations relocating in Arizona to take advantage of this loophole. This is politics at its worst.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GizmoDVD Avatar
34 months ago
Maybe Apple can just do away with IAP and make developers pay $10,000 a week?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...
Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issues Likely Due to Thermal Compromises, Not 3nm Node

Tuesday September 26, 2023 9:12 am PDT by
Complaints about heat issues with the iPhone 15 Pro models are not related to TSMC's 3-nanometer node that was used for the A17 Pro chip, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that overheating could be caused by "compromises made in the thermal system design" that allowed Apple to cut down on the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro models. Kuo says that the reduced heat...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 to Include an Additional Capacitive 'Capture' Button

Monday September 25, 2023 12:50 pm PDT by
The iPhone 16 series is expected to gain an additional capacitive button, known internally as the "Capture Button." Codenamed "Project Nova," the button is likely to be one of the main selling points of the iPhone 16 lineup, assuming it gets past the initial testing phase. The Capture Button is located on the same side as the Power button, only positioned slightly lower - where the mmWave cutout...
ipad mini blue

Apple to Launch iPad Mini 7 Later This Year, Industry Report Suggests

Monday September 25, 2023 3:16 am PDT by
Apple could be preparing to release a seventh-generation iPad mini before the end of the year, based on a new report by DigiTimes. In an article discussing stagnating global tablet demand in the second half of 2023, the Taiwan-based outlet forecasts an uptick in Apple's share of the market owing to orders for a "small-size" iPad in the fourth quarter. From the report (see bold): In the...
macos sonoma 4

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma With New Widget Features, Safari Updates, Screen Sharing Improvements and More

Tuesday September 26, 2023 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS 14 Sonoma, the newest version of the operating system that runs on the Mac. macOS Sonoma has been in beta testing for several months, and it is compatible with the 2019 and later iMac, the iMac Pro, the 2018 and later Mac mini, the 2018 and later MacBook Pro, the 2019 and later Mac Pro, and the Mac Studio. The ‌macOS Sonoma update can be downloaded for free on...