North Dakota Wants to Force Apple to Allow Alternate App Stores - + Apple has been under fire from several directions over the past year or so when it comes to the iPhone and iPad app economy, but now it looks like the company may be facing a new challenge from a rather unusual corner: North Dakota. While the Epic Games lawsuit has yet to produce any results — initial hearings aren’t even expected to begin until sometime this spring — it’s forced lawmakers to take a closer look at how Apple runs its app economy, and whether the iPhone maker is guilty of stifling competition by insisting that all apps be distributed through its single App Store, with its sometimes intransigent rules and of course the 15-30 percent commission that developers are required to pay for the privilege of distributing their apps in that manner.