Apple face growing pressure over ban of nonprofit fundraising apps

The ongoing saga between Apple and the nonprofit industry seems to be escalating much as I had expected. The crux of the issue is the lack of versatility offered by Apple smartphones when it comes to using apps designed for nonprofit giving via your smartphone, it was a topic I had written about last month on the blog. I closed the story at that time with “I’ve a feeling that the story is only partially written at this stage and there will be more to come in the weeks ahead” which although the acceleration of the matter is taking a little longer than expected it’s still certainly hasn’t gone away.

Of course the issue is not just limited to North America but is causing negative reaction amongst nonprofits in many other nations where charity donations via phone has shown growing popularity in recent years. What is up for conjecture at the moment is whether much can really be done to make Apple rethink their current approach as nothing illegal is happening nor are there any statutory expectations for what a smartphone should and shouldn’t do beyond its operation as a telephone. The question remains is whether Apple have any ethical responsibility to allow donation via their phones or if an opt out of this nature should simply remain in the hands of the manufacturer? Whether the pressure will continue to grow and reach a point where Apple reconsider remains to be seen but I imagine they would make their final decision based upon commercial impact; if enough customers decide to switch to rival technology due to what is becoming ‘bad press’ will the technology giant reevaluate their current position?

Meanwhile in the UK a politician has entered into the debate between Apple and charities for the first time, it will be interesting to see if similar action is taken in the US or Canada. Nick Hurd is the UK Minister for civil society and has decided to formally contact Apple to better understand their current positioning; he stated:

“I’d like to understand it from Apple’s point of view. It seems it could be a leader with this, and I don’t understand why it is dragging its heels,”

Momentum still grows in terms of mounting pressure on Apple with an online petition currently housing more than 10,000 names that feel the ban is unreasonable. To date Apple have not made a formal announcement about the situation although verification of payments and monitoring charities seem to be the two sticking points that have not been resolved. What can’t be proven but only speculated upon is what the real impact to charities may be as a result. Some observers feel that equivalent donations will still be made via traditional methods such as websites or telephone appeals, but many think that millions of dollars of donations will be lost due to a missed opportunity that the ease of donation via phone provides. Last year’s Haitian crisis following the earthquake is the most dramatic example of smartphone donations becoming the norm for many.

I don’t feel that there are legal grounds that Apple may face but the rising tide of public pressure could see them perform an about-face to overcome the negative publicity currently being endured. There’s surely more to follow with this story – do you feel Apple need to reevaluate their current stance?

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