North Dakota bill that could have"destroy the iPhone as we know it" fails

We wrote last week on Bill 2333, a proposal in front of North Dakota legislatures, which would, according to Apple, “destroy iPhone as you know it.”

The bill would have forced Apple to open up the device to alternate app stores, proposing that Apple no longer:

1. “Require a developer to use a digital application distribution platform or digital transaction platform as the exclusive mode of distributing a digital product.”
2. “Require a developer to use an in-application payment system as the exclusive mode of accepting payment from a user to download a software application or purchase a digital or physical product through a software application.”
3. “Retaliate against a developer for choosing to use an alternative application store or in-application payment system.”

Apple can today sleep a bit easier, as the bill has failed to pass, garnering 11 votes for and 36 against.

Apple’s chief privacy engineer, Erik Neuenschwander has testified against the bill, saying it “threatens to destroy iPhone as you know it” and that it would “undermine the privacy, security, safety, and performance that’s built into iPhone by design,” according to the Bismarck Tribune. “Simply put, we work hard to keep bad apps out of the App Store; (the bill) could require us to let them in.”

It was recently revealed that Epic, who is currently involved in an antitrust case against Apple, was supporting the bill.

While the case has failed, other states such as Arizona are considering similar legislation, and of course, the EU has its own antitrust case against Apple.

While Apple claims that the bill would have destroyed the iPhone, it is notable that the law would have had minimal impact on Android, which already has similar access in place, and seems to be doing just fine.

via Engadget.