It's a shame, I think the posts were all on google plus and hard to find now.

Microchips in cables are already a semi-optional part of the USB-C standard, mandatory for charging with more than 3A... The backlash was against rumors that Apple was planning an additional paid certification program which would mean only cables whose manufacturers paid for Apple certification would be able to achieve higher speeds...

Markers are also mandatory for all speeds above USB 2.

This part of the spec is actually quite well thought out.

It’s a shame that no device I know just displays the marker data (e.g. a message like “this connection might be limited by your cable”, assuming it’s also possible to figure out the other end’s highest theoretical speed, or simply the cable capabilities in some system menu).

"Cable chips" - or as they're actually called "eMarkers" are mandatory for all USB-C cables above basic capability.

What Apple wanted was to leech on every single cable sold for their own profit with their proprietary licensing.

You already have what you wanted - now you're just demanding Apple tax for no reason. Remember, you can always just buy that 120$ Apple cable and be a happy camper. Right now. With no extra DRM.

Think I remember that story. And then he got one cable that was so badly miswired it fried his laptop I think?