Epic Games, Spotify, and other companies banded to form a "Coalition for App Fairness" and to fight back Apple's "anti-competitive" policies.
With Epic Games and Apple's Sept. 28 legal showdown nearing, the plot further thickens at the announcement that Spotify, Epic Games, and other companies banded together and formed the "Coalition for App Fairness" group. The new organization said they hope to lead the fight against the policies of the Cupertino-based company and will also highlight issues concerning developers and Apple.
Epic Games and Spotify's "Coalition for App Fairness" laid out a ten-point plan on their website and expressed hope to see some changes in Apple's policies accordingly. The group also described itself as "an independent and non-profit organization founded by industry-leading companies to promote freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem."
Aside from the promotion of fair competition and freedom of choice, Epic Games and Spotify's "Coalition for App Fairness" also aims to spearhead legal and regulatory changes concerning what it claims are three major issues, namely, "anti-competitive policies," "30% app tax," and "no consumer freedom." Industry observers note that these are similar issues raised by Epic in its legal complaint against Apple.
While the ten points laid out by Epic Games and Spotify's "Coalition for App Fairness" does not mention the Cupertino-based tech giant, it did touch on some of the arguments of Epic. For instance, observers view the second item that says "No developer should be blocked from the platform or discriminated against based on a developer's business model, how it delivers content and services, or whether it competes in any way with the app store owner," as a veiled reference to the situation where Apple removed the developer status of Epic Games from the app store.
Another point made by the coalition says "Every developer should always have the right to communicate directly with its users through its app for legitimate business purposes." Though Epic Games and Spotify's "Coalition for App Fairness" did not mention Apple, it seemed like a reference to the question raised by Apple that Epic has started accepting direct payments through its game Fortnite, which is a violation of the rules in place at Apple's app store.
Aside from Epic Games and Spotify, other members of the "Coalition for App Fairness" include Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain, Deezer, Match, Tile, Prepear, News Media Europe, SkyDemon, the European Publisher's Council, ProtonMail, and many other companies that experienced conflicts with Apple in the past. With the main header of the coalition's website saying "Every day, apple taxes consumers & crushes innovation," it can be easily determined that the focus of the group is Apple. The organization is also inviting other companies and developers to join them in their advocacy against Apple's app ecosystem.
