Category: Apple|Oct 10, 2021 | Author: Admin
Revealing arguments
A button is more than a button
Caring for consumers
Argument sought
Stick from Tim Sweeney
Why is Apple appealing the verdict that they presented as "a resounding victory"?
Share onApple won on almost every point, but lost on one - and it stings the scrotum. Now they are trying to squeeze out time through the judiciary.
Pushing consumer care ahead of him in a game of big money
Billions of dollars and in part control of the App Store were at stake for Apple in the case Epic filed against them.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favor of Apple in nine of the ten claims made by Epic, and Apple went out and called the verdict a "resounding victory".
But Apple lost on one important point: The judge demanded that Apple let developers link to external payment systems.
That decision would take effect from December this year, and that is probably the time Apple is trying to delay through new rounds in the courtrooms.
In the appeal, Apple asks for a postponement to prevent the company from implementing the new rules because it "will allow Apple to protect consumers and secure the platform while the company works through complex and legal, technological and economic issues in rapid development."
Revealing arguments
Apple claims, for example, that the new anti-control rule is unnecessary because the company has already in the agreement with Cameron agreed to delete the clause not to allow links to external payment systems in the App Store guidelines, but as far as it has appeared earlier this is not entirely true; they agreed that the app developers were allowed to communicate with the customers who gave consent, not link to external payment systems.
This clarification was largely regarded by the developers as a diversionary maneuver. At the time, Apple did not promise to delete any section of the App Store policy.
A button is more than a button
It seems that Apple is really afraid that the court ruling will force them to open the App Store for alternative payment mechanisms, despite what some Apple experts have claimed:
Links and buttons for alternative payment mechanisms are associated with risk.
Users who click on a built-in payment link button in an app - especially one distributed through the curated App Store - will expect to be taken to a website where they can safely enter payment information, email address, and other personal information.
Caring for consumers
Apple continues with the well-known argument that they will not be able to protect users from fraud if they allow app developers to connect to external payment systems:
Although Apple could examine the links in the app being submitted for review, there is nothing to prevent a developer from modifying the link or changing the content of the landing page. In addition, Apple loses the ability to determine if the user actually receives the products or features they paid for.
Apple already receives hundreds of thousands of reports every day from users.
Allowing links to external payment options would increase this burden. In essence, the introduction of external payment links will lead to the same security issues that Apple generally addresses with the use of IAP and which the court has recognized as legitimate, pro-competitive reasons for designing the App Store.
There are a number of open questions about how well Apple protects users of the App Store - only last week did the company add a feature to easily report obvious App Store scams.
Argument sought
Apple also cites a blog post from Paddle, a potential competitor to Apple's in-app payments that emerged after the Epic v.
Apple ruling, and uses it to illustrate a potential threat to consumers. Not because of lower fees, but because "contrary to Apple's strict privacy policy, the developer intends to provide access to the user's email addresses".
Other arguments are also raised, but in sum, the company says that "a hasty implementation of this will disrupt the fragile balance the App Store creates between developers and customers and will do irreparable damage to both Apple and consumers".
Stick from Tim Sweeney
Apple has appealed, but it is not clear whether the court will uphold the appeal. Epic said immediately after the sentencing that they intended to appeal.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney responded to Apple's appeal on Twitter:
