The App Store Act of 2023: A New Era for Online Platforms

The App Store Act of 2023 (HR 3209 IH) is a proposed law that aims to regulate online platforms, particularly those used for mobile apps. The bill has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives and is currently under consideration.

Section 1: Definitions

This section defines key terms used throughout the Act:

• APP (Application): A software application or electronic service that may be run or directed by a user on a computer, mobile device, or any other general-purpose consumer computing device.
• APP STORE: A publicly available website, software application, or other electronic service that may distribute apps from third-party developers to users of a computer, mobile device, or any other general-purpose consumer computing device.
• COMMISSION: The Federal Trade Commission.
• COVERED COMPANY: Any person who owns or controls an app store for which the number of users in the United States exceeds 100,000,000; and the operating system on which such app store operates.

Section 6: Definitions (continued)

This section defines additional key terms:

• DEVELOPER: A person who owns or controls an app or an app store.
• IN-APP PAYMENT SYSTEM: An application, service, or user interface to manage billing or process a payment from a user of an app.
• NONPUBLIC BUSINESS INFORMATION: Non-public data that is derived from a developer or an app or app store owned or controlled by a developer, including an interaction between a user and the app or app store of the developer; and collected by a covered company in the course of operating an app store or providing an operating system.
• OPERATING SYSTEM: An operating system configuration.

Guidance and Effective Date

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is required to issue guidance to assist covered companies in complying with the Act, within 180 days of the bill's enactment. The Act shall take effect on the date when the Commission issues guidance.             Read the full text of the App Store Act of 2023 (HR 3209 IH) on GovInfo

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