rjharlan

randominternetperson said:

CheeseFreeze said:

cessnapaul said:

"we love developers" as long as we get a 30% cut.

Just because Karl Benz invented the automobile doesn't mean he gets a cut of every toll road.

Saying Apple deserves a 30% cut of all digital goods because they built the platform is like saying a mall owner deserves a percentage of everything sold in every store, forever, even after the store builds its own loyal customer base and no longer relies on foot traffic.

Sure, Apple built the “mall” - the App Store - and they deserve fair rent for access and discovery. But when Apple blocks tenants from even telling customers that cheaper options exist outside the mall, or forces them to use Apple’s own checkout system, it stops being about fair business and becomes about control.

The real issue isn’t whether Apple should earn money - they already do, handsomely. It’s that they’ve positioned themselves as landlord, tax authority, and competitor all at once. Epic’s win doesn’t mean developers escape costs - it just means they can finally choose how to run their businesses. That’s not freeloading. That’s competition.

And let’s be honest: a free economy isn’t absolute. It needs guardrails. When two companies are the app economy, protecting free markets requires regulation - not just to stop abuse, but to keep the system open for the next generation of creators.

Let's see how this Apple-as-mall-owner metaphor works.

Suppose I own a mall. It's a beautiful facility in a great location with massive foot traffic. I write into the lease agreement that every tenant has to pay me a percentage of gross sales (interestingly, I charge nothing else; so if you don't do any business or give away your products and services for free, you don't pay me a dime. You sign a lease under those terms; you might have preferred a flat monthly rent, but after weighing the costs and benefits you decide it's worth it.

Then you decide to get "clever" and tell customers that they can pay for purchases by going to your website instead of paying in-person. Maybe you even give them a discount for going that route. So far so good.

Then you tell me, your landlord, that those payments thru your site don't count as part of gross revenue.

Who's the bad actor in this scenario?

I didn't propose this metaphor, but I fail to see how it makes Apple the bad guy.