app store - Pwim.Net

Coinbase Censored By Apple

Some features within the Coinbase app have been restricted for IOS users, sparking further discontent about the ‘pay-to-play’ model adopted by Apple.

Apple Inc. has received criticism over restrictions on the Coinbase “Earn” feature that allows users to earn free cryptocurrency by watching educational videos and answering questions correctly in a quiz.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a string of tweets last week, giving insight into some of the struggles with Apple’s App Store and in-app purchases as the discussion around Apple’s restrictions on app functionalities evolves.

Apple has prevented IOS users from earning money directly from the Coinbase app. Instead, users must log-in to Coinbase via the desktop app to earn rewards.

Further to this, Apple will not allow access to DeFi applications from within the Coinbase IOS app.

Armstrong criticized Apple for preventing users from earning money during a recession, pointing to the fact that so much of the global population is without access to basic financial instruments and services.

Armstrong added that Apple had also prevented Coinbase from providing a list of DeFi applications within the Coinbase app, despite merely serving as an aggregating service. The CEO announced plans to submit a formal request to remedy the situation.

Coinbase is just the latest in a string of companies at odds with the tech giant, after Epic Games, maker of the popular game Fortnite, recently challenged the Apple App Store payment rules.

The App Store rules impose a 30% cut of all in-app purchases. Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple to challenge the monopoly held over in-app payments processors following the removal of Fortnite from the App Store last month.

Broadly speaking, these restrictions may serve to protect users. However, by imposing censorship of this nature, Apple not only eliminates competition but also limits the opportunity and potential for millions of users at a time when people are most in need.

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Ban on TikTok Downloads

A federal US judge granted an injunction request against the Trump Administration’s order to ban TikTok downloads, temporarily saving the app from being permanently removed from all US app stores.

TikTok ban in the US temporarily averted

During a virtual court hearing, the legal team behind TikTok argued that President Trump’s shutdown of the video-sharing app was an infringement on freedom of speech; TikTok filed an injunction, which was granted by the judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Carl Nichols. Though the judge temporarily blocked the ban, a broader ban set for November 12 has not yet been dispelled.

In an official statement, TikTok said that it was pleased that the court agreed with them. It also disclosed that it was actively working on reaching an agreement with the Trump administration to keep TikTok operations within the US afloat.

On its end, the US Department of Commerce said, “The Government will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so, but intends to vigorously defend the E.O (Executive Order) and the Secretary’s implementation efforts from legal challenges.”

ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart – TikTok goes the decision clock

The deal for TikTok US operations is still currently in the works. Initially, the Department of Commerce had announced that starting September 20, TikTok would no longer be available for download in US app stores. However, with Oracle and Walmart stepping in and actively working with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to save TikTok operations within the US, the ban was temporarily delayed until September 27.

The terms of the deal to create a new company by the name of TikTok Global are still being worked out, as both American and Chinese entities have not reached an agreement. So far, what is known is that TikTok Global will be co-owned by ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart. However, the firms have remained divided on the ownership structure of the newly birthed video-sharing company.

The Chinese parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, has said that it intends to keep an 80% ownership stake of TikTok Global. Displeased with the proposal, Oracle had contested it, expressing that ByteDance will not have any ownership in TikTok Global.

US calls TikTok a threat for national security

The Trump administration has been adamant in making TikTok within the United States majorly American owned, with talks that four out of five of the board members should be American entities. The US legislative department has maintained that TikTok posed a national security threat to Americans if it was to remain under ByteDance’s umbrella, as user data could be sent back to China.

Per the announcement shared with CNBC, US lawyers said:

“ByteDance has significant and close ties to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which could potentially be leveraged to further their agenda and exact pressure on ByteDance.”

For TikTok’s deal to obtain the Trump administration’s seal of approval, TikTok will have to provide substantial proof that the code was secure and that American users data will not be leaked to the Chinese government, as it has previously been reported to have collected information from millions of mobile devices. ByteDance has however previously said that it will not give up or disclose its TikTok algorithm to Oracle.

Apple to Permit Developers to Host NFT-Based Apps on App Store

American multinational tech giant Apple Inc is coming to terms and is billed to allow Web3.0 startups to sell their Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) through its App Store.

With the new policy, marketplaces like OpenSea, LooksRare, and Magic Eden, amongst others, can offer their hosted digital collectables for sale through the Apple Pay gateway.

While it is no news that the broader crypto ecosystem and the NFT offshoot have experienced dwindling patronage over the past year with the advent of the crypto winter, the latest allowance from Apple may help stir some resurgence in the market.

Prior to this time, the privacy features of Apple have made NFT developers shun the App Store as a gateway to market their products. While NFT and crypto-related applications are permitted, the allowances were very slim.

According to a report by The Information, NFT startups have shunned Apple partly because of the 30% charges it levies on every transaction. Magic Eden co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Sidney Zhang reiterated this in an interview.

With the new allowance, developers are left to choose between boycotting the tech giant’s systems because of the high fees or embracing the opportunity based on its extensive market reach.

The Web3.0 ecosystem is expanding at a prolific rate, and innovators in the space are doing all they can to position their businesses to capture the market growth. Investors are also pulling in the weight to aid the evolution of Web3.0 protocols to accelerate their product and service offerings through consistent funding.

The contributions from tech giants like Apple will help change the paradigm for all players in the space as the company, alongside Google, has dominated the Stores through which startups can host their mobile applications. In the age where many P2E games are being developed, these provisions from Apple will go a long way to offer flexibility for developers who embrace the terms.

Apple's New Guidelines Permit NFTs But There's a Caveat

American multinational tech giant, Apple Inc, the owner of the App Store, one of the largest application hosting platforms in the world has updated its guidelines to include an accommodation for its hosted apps to integrate Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

While this may come as very big news considering the exposure the new allowance will grant to developers and apps to integrate NFTs, Apple’s guidelines come with some form of limitations. The updated guideline reads;

“Apps may use in-app purchase to sell and sell services related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as minting, listing, and transferring. Apps may allow users to view their own NFTs, provided that NFT ownership does not unlock features or functionality within the app. Apps may allow users to browse NFT collections owned by others, provided that the apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.”

The update can be said to be positive and negative as the functionalities are generally limited which may not augur well for developers to maximize the traffic generated from the app.

NFTs as an offshoot of blockchain technology is going mainstream and the number of tech giants, particularly those in the social media space, supporting its growth has continued to grow over the past year. While Reddit has launched its own NFT collection, Twitter started permitting NFT owners to feature NFTs as their profile pictures earlier in the year.

While these moves help publicize the potential inherent in the technology, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook launched support for NFTs across some of its applications including Instagram.

With most of these applications running on the App Store, the new Apple allowance will notably help advance their embrace, and developers can count this as a win, despite the limitations applicable.

Apple's App Store Policies Probed: U.S. Lawmakers Investigate Impact on Blockchain and NFTs

U.S. Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Jan Schakowsky have penned a formal letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, raising concerns over the tech giant’s App Store guidelines and their potential impact on emerging technologies like blockchain and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The lawmakers are investigating whether Apple’s stringent guidelines might inadvertently stifle innovation and hinder the growth of cutting-edge technologies. The probe highlights a growing concern that these policies may limit American technological leadership in the rapidly evolving fields of blockchain and NFTs.

The letter to Apple’s CEO cites specific instances where the company’s policies have affected businesses. Coinbase’s accusation of being forced to remove NFT transfers from its Wallet app and Axie Infinity’s release of a limited version of its app are among the cases that have sparked this inquiry.

Critics contend that Apple is using the App Store to stifle competition and increase profits, despite the fact that the corporation defends its restrictions by claiming they are a way to improve security via the use of a “walled garden” approach. The investigation being conducted by the parliamentarians places an emphasis on the need of openness and accountability, with the end goal of levelling the playing field inside the business.

This is not the first time Apple’s App Store policies have come under scrutiny. Previous concerns related to TikTok and other China-originating apps have also been raised. The current probe reflects broader apprehensions about the potential negative consequences of Apple’s policies on the U.S.’s standing in emerging technologies.

The official investigation into Apple’s App Store policy marks a watershed point in the continuing debate about digital titans’ roles and responsibilities. The findings of this research, which focuses on blockchain and NFTs, might create a precedent for the development and regulation of future technologies.