Arizona has emerged as a battleground between corporate and antitrust forces, with the state Legislature considering a measure that would loosen Apple and Google s grip on app sales .

The fight is creating strange bedfellows, with big tech companies, the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and some Democrats lining up against the Republican-sponsored bill.

House Bill 2005 would allow Arizona-based developers to use their own in-app payment systems, effectively circumventing Apples App Store rules that give the tech giant a 15% to 30% cut of every transaction made there.

Apple isnt alone in the practice. Most major platforms also take a cut of some sort. App stores run by Google, Microsoft and Samsung all take a 30% commission, with some falling to 15% in certain instances.

In 2020, that cut amounted to a combined $33 billion for Google and Apple, according to data provided to The New York Times Times by the app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

The bills sponsors, GOP state Reps. Regina Cobb and Leo Biasiucci, frame it as a means to boost Arizonas tech scene while also poking big tech right in the eye.

Apple and Google have a monopoly on how you download apps to your phone, the two wrote in an op-ed for the Arizona Capitol Times late last month. You have to use their system and their payment processor, and then they tax you for it. Small app developers have to absorb the cost and struggle to survive or pass the tax onto their consumers.

But were ready to change that, they continued. We are taking action now to challenge Big Techs monopoly and make Arizona a better place for every app user and app developer.