Apple shakes down WordPress, forces it to add in-app purchases so Apple can collect its 30% extortion fee

I don't even know what to say anymore at this point. A bugfix update for the WordPress iOS application - which allows you to manage your WordPress website but does not sell anything - was blocked by Apple because WordPress.com separately also sells domain names and hosting packags, and Apple wants its 30% extortion fee, forcing the developer of this open source app to add the ability to buy WordPress domains and hosting.

Is Apple seriously asking for WordPress owner Automattic to share a cut of all its domain name revenue? How would it even know which customers used the app? Was this all a mistake?

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment, but Mullenweg tells The Verge he's not going to fight it - he will add brand-new in-app purchases for WordPress.com's paid tiers, which include domain names, within 30 days. Apple has agreed to allow Automattic to update the app while it waits. (The last update was issued yesterday.)

In other words, Apple won: the richest company in the world just successfully forced an app developer to monetize an app so it could make more money. It's just the latest example of Apple's fervent attempts to guard its cash cow resulting in a decision that doesn't make much sense and doesn't live up to Apple's ethos (real or imagined) of putting the customer experience ahead of all else.

It's like Apple is purposefully laying out a breadcrumb trail for antitrust investigators.