rep wuew megs rs tome een Congress of the Hnited States ————- eT Bouse of Repeesentatives —— ‘Washington, BE 20515-0533 December 1, 2017 Mr. Tim Cook Chief Executive Officer Apple, In, lnfinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 Dear Mr. Cook, ‘Asa global leader in smartphone technology, Apple enables millions of people to engage with the World in unique ways. The Apple App Store has helped small businesses expand their economic horizons, eonnecting otherwise unreachable audiences with products and services atthe tap of a finger. {As the Representative for one ofthe country's largest technological, educational, and entertainment hubs, many of my constituents have benefited from the access your App Store provides, They understandably want to ensure their apps are reachable by a wide audience, so they can continue to share their ereative work and make a living doing whet they love Recently, I was informed that Apple's decision to more stringently enforce its policy guidelines regarding design and functionality (Guidelines 4.3 and 42.6 respectively) may result inthe wholesale rejection of template-based apps fom the App Store. Its my understanding that many small businesses, research organizations, and religious institutions rely on template apps when they do not ‘possess the resources to develop apps in-house. Understandably, Apple has a vested interest in ensuring its App Store is free from spam or otherwise illegitimate apps. Iam concerned, however, that ~ in weeding out several bad actors ~ Apple may be casting 00 wide ofa net and invalidating apps from longstanding and legitimate developers who pose ‘no threat to the App Store's integrity. I write to respectfully request that Apple examine possible changes tothe aforementioned guidelines to ensure that nonfunctional or spam apps are barred from the store, yet trasted developers who create template apps are allowed to continue their productive partnerships with Apple. ‘Thank you very much for you attention to this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please ‘contact my office at 202-225-3976. [look forward to working with you going forward, Sincerely, Dede W. duc ‘Ted W. Liew Member of Congress