Aside from the fact that the GP mentioned macOS rather than iOS, and NetNewsWire isn't in the Mac App Store to begin with, this isn't a policy Apple has enforced since forever.
There are a wealth of alternate calculator apps, calendar apps, camera apps, etc etc.
Apple actually recanted and removed the special rule they had added to make those apps violate the TOS. Their review process didn't enforce that rule for years until after Apple started competing, then the apps were suddenly "abusive" but it was actually platform abuse all along.
> The company estimated that Apple’s move cost it around $3 million, a spokeswoman told the Times.
The rules weren't special. The new exception allowing parental control apps to use MDM is.
The intended use of MDM was always clear. Apple admitted abuse wasn't on their radar until 2017. Cracking down right away would have left users without a replacement.
Do you have any examples that are still in effect?
I'm having trouble finding the 2017 version of the guidelines where they added the rule but they specifically targeted competing parental control apps and mention that update and the subsequently-contrived violations here:
> We started exploring this use of MDM by non-enterprise developers back in early 2017 and updated our guidelines based on that work in mid-2017.
Then they did nothing about it for two years until Screen Time was ready:
> When we found out about these guideline violations, we communicated these violations to the app developers, giving them 30 days to submit an updated app to avoid availability interruption in the App Store.
The backlash they faced led them to recant and update their guidelines allowing the very same parental controls and using the very same MDM technology instead of the APIs they built for Screen Time:
> and in limited cases, companies using MDM for parental control services.
Some of the companies quoted their rejection emails. They all referred to rules that other kinds of apps were rejected for too. None of them referred to special rules for parental control apps.
Screen Time was introduced in 2018.
Recanting means renouncing a belief. Changing a policy because of backlash doesn't mean they think the old policy was wrong.
