Apple said it will remove Damus from its App Store if the decentralized social messaging app doesn’t remove a certain component off its payments feature. According to CNBC, Apple is giving Damus 14 days to remove the Bitcoin tipping function from its app. The feature—which has fallen out of Apple’s terms by not using its in-app purchase system—is called “zap” and enables users to send Bitcoin to their favorite content creators through the blockchain’s second layer, Lightning Network. Apple has expressed concerns about content creators using zaps to sell digital content on its platform, and in general, has forbidden app creators from using in-app payments to sell added content or add-ons.

The only loophole is that the payments be made through Apple, who takes a 30% cut. In a statement, Apple said that the company reviews “all apps against the same set of guidelines that are intended to protect customers and provide a fair and level playing field to developers.” It stated further that it “identified a feature in the Damus app that allows users to send a tip in connection with digital content in the app, which violates App Store Review Guidelines.” Another Blow Towards Decentralized Apps and Other Emerging Technology? Backed by Jack Dorsey, former Twitter CEO, Damus could be setting a precedent for all future attempts of decentralizing social media apps. Suspicions loom as the Damus team was set to give a talk at Oslo’s Freedom Forum about how Bitcoin and decentralized social media can help support financial freedom, just this week.   Apple’s desire for control over emerging technology was seen charging 30% commission on in-app NFT sales, in which Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the move as “grotesquely overpriced.” Dorsey wrote in a tweet that “this seems to be a misunderstanding by @apple of how this feature works and what it’s for.

It’s a critical part of the future of the internet. It has the capacity to bring people around the world into the economy without the traditional gatekeepers.”

By Connie Diaz De Teran
Jun 16, 2023 00:00
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