ACT rejects the proposal by Cellular Telephone and Internet Association to rate smartphone apps and act as the apps regulator. Software developers have expressed loud and clear that they do not want an association with competing interests to regulate the applications ecosystem.
Recently, government officials and trade associations have been speaking about app developers, but no one has been speaking to app developers. Wireless carriers and their representatives have suggested that apps developers submit to a ‘self-regulatory’ process in which carriers and handset manufacturers would set and enforce standards. This is not the right direction.
We have heard loud and clear from our members that any self-regulatory initiative for apps developers should be undertaken by apps developers. They are wise enough to understand that self-regulation does not mean putting your company’s future in the hands of another industry.
Phone manufacturers have helped to create an ecosystem that supports our applications, but their concerns are focused on maximizing the number of handsets sold, not on the needs of application developers. An onerous rating system may have no direct impact on handset sales, but could devastate a small developer whose business relies on the ability of consumers to determine for themselves which feature sets they prefer.”
App sales are currently a $2 billion-a-year industry, expected to rise to $38 billion by 2015. The rising demand for wireless broadband and mobile devices derives largely from the widespread availability of apps created by application developers to make these devices productive and enjoyable to use.