Illinois Floats Bill That Would Let Developers Skirt Apple's In-App Purchase Rules

Illinois is the latest state to attempt to pass legislation that would prevent developers from being required to use Apple's in-app purchase options.

Distribution platforms like the App Store and Google Play wouldn't be able to force Illinois developers to use a particular in-application payment system as the exclusive mode for accepting payments, as outlined by Arizona news site WGEM.

One of the supporters of the new bill is David Heinemeier-Hansson, the CEO of Basecamp, who in 2020 was involved in a public dispute with Apple over email app "Hey". The Hey app didn't work without a subscription, but it did have an option to purchase a subscription, but it wasn't included in the app.

Hey was threatened to be removed from the App Store if a subscription option wasn't added, because Apple didn't believe that an app opening to a login was an ideal user experience. Hey was able to get around the restriction by offering a free option that users could try out.

None of the state bills that attempt to provide developers with non-App Store payment options have succeeded. The states of North Dakota, Arizona, and Minnesota tried to get around in-app purchase rules by passing bills, but Apple and Google fought against them.

Apple's chief compliance officer Kyle Andeer said that Arizona's bill was a government mandate that Apple give away the App Store, and Apple's Chief Privacy Engineer said that the North Dakota's bill threatened to destroy the iPhone as you know.

The Arizona bill passed the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona House Committee, but the Arizona Senate pulled the bill before it could be voted on. The Arizona State Representative said at the time that Apple and Google hired lobbyists to kill the bill.

Apple has been required to allow alternate in-app payment systems in South Korea and the Netherlands due to legislation in Illinois. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hear legislation that would allow for alternate app stores and alternate payment methods.

In the Netherlands and South Korea, Apple still collects a commission on transactions, and Tim Cook has made it clear that Apple would implement an alternate way of collecting fees in the U.S.

Cook said during the trial that they would have to come up with an alternate way of collecting their commission. Cook said that Apple would have to find a way to track sales, invoice them, and chase developers for money. He said that it seems like a process that doesn't need to exist.