Major developers continue to deride Apple’s App Store policies and call into question CEO Tim Cook’s testimony at a U. S. House hearing this week, where he said the company treats all developers on the platform equally.
Major developers continue to deride Apple’s App Store policies and call into question CEO Tim Cook’s testimony at a U. S. House hearing this week, where he said the company treats all developers on the platform equally.
At the hearing, lawmakers grilled the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google as part of an ongoing investigation into anticompetitive practices. Though Cook faced minimal questioning compared to his tech industry colleagues, House Judiciary Committee panel members did ask about App Store rules like Apple’s cut of in-app purchases and the removal of third-party parental control apps.
In his opening statement and during subsequent inquiry, Cook maintained that Apple applies fair and equal policies to all third-party developers marketing wares on the App Store.
« We treat every developer the same. We have open and transparent rules, » Cook said. « It’s a rigorous process because we care so deeply about privacy, and security, and quality. We do look at every app before it goes on, but those rules apply evenly to everyone. »
Cook denied that certain larger developers are favored over others.
In light of Cook’s testimony, developers this week spoke out against App Store policies, calling Apple’s practices restrictive and « unfair. »
Dustin Dailey, director of product management for Eturi, in an emailed statement to Business Insider, described Apple’s rules as « a moving target that is not evenly applied to everyone. » Eturi develops OurPact, one of the parental control apps that Apple removed as it clamped down on third-party apps using mobile device management technology.
« We are hopeful that Apple will recognize they are not the only developers capable of creating products with the user’s best interest in mind as it related to data privacy and security, » Dailey said.
