North Dakota lawmakers vote down a bill that threatened Apple’s and Google’s revenues.

One North dakota bill In a vote Tuesday, an Apple executive warned that “it threatened to destroy the iPhone as you know it.”

Three-quarters of North Dakota’s 48 state senators voted against the bill that tried to ban Apple and Google from forcing North Dakota companies to transfer a share of app sales.

Invoice targeted Apple’s and Google’s apps for taking commission up to 30 percent in many application sales. According to estimates by Sensor Tower, an application data firm, companies brought in a total of $ 33 billion from these commissions last year.

Companies such as Epic Games, Spotify, and Match Group, along with some small app developers, protested the commissions artificially high, arguing that Apple and Google could charge them only because they were a duopoly and app makers had no other option than to deal with to reach customers. The two tech giants make the software that forms the basis of almost all smartphones in the world.

The bill attracted intense lobbying activity on both sides. Apple, in particular, feared it would set a dangerous precedent for its business by letting app developers avoid fees that were crucial to its recent growth. Apple and its lobbyists warned that the bill could put North Dakota at risk for expensive lawsuits.

“We don’t want to put the state in a position where we have to spend taxpayers’ dollars on litigation, because these are huge companies,” Jerry Klein, a Republican state senator, said on the North floor on Tuesday. Dakota Senate. “Let’s stay away from the court.”

After the vote, Republican state senator Kyle Davison, who presented the bill, blamed the complexity of the issue and Apple’s failure to oppose it. “When confusing with Apple, you should be able to match its intensity with sources, including lobbyists,” he said.

Apple and Google’s critics and competitors are now turning their attention to other states. Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts are considering similar laws, and lobbyists are pushing for nearly identical bills in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Coalition for App Fairness, a group of companies that opposes app store commissions, including Epic and Spotify, is leading the press for invoices.

Apple declined to comment, and Google did not immediately respond to the request for comment.