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Last active July 23, 2016 21:01
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public_statement.md

Public Statement about the Apple Developer Program License Agreement

I'm about to agree to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. I wasn't planning to make a public statement about it, until I read section 9.4:

9.4 Press Releases and Other Publicity

You may not issue any press releases or make any other public statements regarding this Agreement, its terms and conditions, or the relationship of the parties without Apple’s express prior written approval, which may be withheld at Apple’s discretion.

So if I ever want to make a public statement about this agreement, I guess I better do it now, because I won't be allowed to do this after I agree to its terms.

I really like Apple. I think they make fantastic products, and I buy them. But EFF mentions some things they dislike about the terms that every iOS developer must agree to, and even though this is old news, I still pretty much agree about all of them.

  • After I agree to the agreement, section 9.4 will prohibit me from making "public statements" about it (like this one).
  • Section 7 says that apps developed using Apple's SDK may only be publicly distributed through the App Store. However, apps on the App Store have to follow many arbitrary rules that are applied inconsistently. This is supposed to ensure that all apps on your phone are high quality, but in practice getting an app approved is often somewhere between annoying and impossible (depending on what the app does, even if it's useful) and it's not clear that having so many arbitrary design rules actually helps makes apps better. Section 7 means that if I make a useful app and it's rejected from the App Store, I may not create a package of an app and put it on a website somewhere, unlike with Android (or OS X for that matter).
  • Section 3.2(e) will ban me from jailbreaking any Apple products or enabling others to do so. So far I haven't felt a need to jailbreak my phone, but I used to run Ubuntu on my MacBook Pro and can see the appeal of jailbreaking. If I later decide I want to jailbreak my iPhone or help someone else do so, this section will disallow me from doing that.
  • Section 2.6 prohibits reverse engineering Apple SDKs or iOS, even when it's otherwise allowed by copyright law.
  • Section 6.1 says that Apple must approve all bug fixes. If Apple does not approve these very quickly, this could leave people without the latest security updates.

If you develop for iOS, I'd love to hear what you think about the agreement you signed, perhaps in a tweet, press release, or other public statement. It's a shame Apple won't let you.

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