- A U.S. court has ruled that Apple’s anti-steering rules are illegal
- The rules house a 30% tax on purchases made on iOS-based apps and prohibit the use of third-party in-app payment methods
- The ruling is a possible win for NFTs since collectors won’t be required to pay the 30% tax on purchases
A U.S. court in California has ruled that Apple’s anti-steering rules are illegal, opening the door for the proliferation of NFTs in the iOS ecosystem. The rules dictate that Apple must take a 30% cut on all in-app purchases and developers aren’t allowed to provide app users with ways to interact with external payment methods. According to the court, the rules are unfair since they prohibit competition.
Freedom at Last?
The Californian court delivered the ruling in a case involving the tech giant and Fortnite creator Epic Games. According to the court, Apple’s rules were a stumbling block on Epic’s path to attracting more customers and revenue.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney commented on the ruling saying that it liberates iOS developers by enabling them to provide consumer-centric services without the hindrance of Apple’s anti-steering provisions.
Fortunately, the court’s positive decision rejecting Apple’s anti-steering provisions frees iOS developers to send consumers to the web to do business with them directly there. We’re working on next steps.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 24, 2023
Although the tech heavyweight is yet to indicate whether it’ll appeal the decision, the ruling brings a sigh of relief to crypto and NFT developers since in-app purchases won’t be subjected to the 30% tax. Also, NFT creators will have the freedom to send collectors to external platforms like NFT exchanges to complete a transaction.
30% Tax Without Crypto Support
The policy, which came to force in October last year, affected major players in the crypto space such as Coinbase. Through the rules, Apple made it hard for iOS-based Coinbase Wallet users to transfer their collectibles. However, it wasn’t clear how Apple intended to collect the 30% tax on crypto-based trades since it doesn’t support crypto payments.
You might have noticed you can’t send NFTs on Coinbase Wallet iOS anymore. This is because Apple blocked our last app release until we disabled the feature. 🧵
— Coinbase Wallet (@CoinbaseWallet) December 1, 2022
However, the onset of new European Union Digital Markets regulation seemed to soften the tech giant’s stand, and is reportedly considering allowing third-party apps on the App Store.
With the court terming Apple anti-steering rules illegal, it’s likely to see more iOS-powered Web 3.0 applications.
