Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who now heads bitcoin-focused financial services firm Block, goes head-to-head in his search for answers as to why Apple, the giant computer and smartphone maker, isn’t offering support for Bitcoin (BTC). the pinnacle is his mobile payment service Apple Pay.
On Tuesday, after Apple signaled bitcoin-friendly social media app Damus that it was likely to be kicked from the App Store for violating the platform’s terms of service, Dorsey tweeted to Apple CEO Tim Cook: “Why doesn’t Apple support Pay ?” Bitcoin @tim_cook?”
He cited a tweet from Damus that appears to show an app store reviewer recommending Apple Pay as a way to resolve the violations.
Damus founder William Casarin told CoinDesk on Monday that the tech giant threatened to remove Damus by Tuesday for violating the company’s in-app purchase policies by tipping, or “zaps,” on bitcoin-paid content allowed the use of Apple Pay instead, which is not the case. Encryption is not supported.
The dispute has reopened the question of whether Apple has too much power over consumer apps and has, in a way, validated cryptocurrency advocates’ call for a financial system resistant to censorship.
Cook, who tweets about a couple of times a week, didn’t respond to Dorsey’s question.
Bitcoin’s integration into Apple Pay – which is estimated to have over 500 million users – would result in a significant increase in mass cryptocurrency adoption.
Damus is a decentralized social media platform running on the Nostr protocol, popular with bitcoiners in part because most implementations support payments over the blockchain’s Lightning Network. (Nostr is an acronym for “notes and other things transmitted by relays”.)
The app went live on the App Store earlier this year, but on June 13 it was threatened with delisting for “Zaps,” a special Damus feature that allows users to transfer small amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) over the Lightning Network send to tip their favorite content creators, similar to Twitter’s “tip” feature. Lightning is Bitcoin’s second layer payment network for cheaper and faster transactions.
“Two weeks ago we identified a feature in the Damus app that allows users to send a tip related to digital content in the app, which violates App Store Review Guidelines 3.1.1 and 3.2.1 (vii) violates,” Apple told CoinDesk.
Casarin said Apple wants to remove the zap button from all “notes,” or content sections — a configuration Casarin says Apple sees as tantamount to selling digital content — though it’s okay to have a zap button on user profiles.
“I spoke to Apple on the phone and they told me they didn’t want Zaps used for sales,” Casarin explained. “I thought one of the compromises we could make is that we actually remove all the note-zapping functionality.”
He said he changed the Damus UI so that zap buttons would still appear on notes, but the zaps themselves would not be associated with notes and would only be sent and processed at the profile level. Casarin says Apple isn’t happy with its compromise.
“I’ve spent the last two weeks removing the ability for users to see Zaps,” Casarin said. “I submitted it again and they gave the exact same answer.”
Apple confirmed that they hired Casarin and clearly explained to him how the problem could be solved.
“As we have previously communicated to this developer, they should address the issues we have brought to their attention in their next update,” Apple said. “Upon receiving her most recent submission, we determined that the issues were unresolved and denied her application.”
None other than former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appeared to criticize Apple’s decision, arguing that “tips don’t unlock content.” Earlier this month, he tweeted that a move by the tech giant to cut off Damus could limit Bitcoin adoption and thwart the “only chance to build a truly global payment protocol for the internet.”
Dorsey, who is now the CEO of Bitcoin-focused financial services firm Block (SQ), has donated millions to develop the protocol.
It’s unclear whether the threatened removal is simply a misunderstanding on Apple’s part or part of a broader crackdown on restricting certain types of Bitcoin-focused apps. On June 14, the company rejected an updated version of the non-custodial Lightning-enabled Bitcoin wallet Zeus, but it was approved the next day.
“We review all apps against the same guidelines designed to protect customers and provide a fair and level playing field for developers,” Apple said.
Casarin and others have criticized the company’s approval process, calling it “opaque”.
“The frustrating thing is that whenever you get feedback from Apple reviewers, they don’t specifically tell you how you’re violating the policy,” Casarin said. “It’s very frustrating. I think many bitcoin apps are compromised.”
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