- Apple’s, opens new tab App Store rules breach EU tech rules because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers.
- Apple said it had made a number of changes in the past several months to comply with the DMA after getting feedback from developers and the Commission.
OUR TAKE
As the main app distribution channel on the iOS platform, the rules of the App Store have a significant impact on millions of app developers and billions of users. The EU’s action is not just a scrutiny of Apple’s case-by-case case, but also a holistic regulation of the behaviour of tech giants in the digital market, with the aim of ensuring an open, competitive and innovative environment.
–Revel Cheng, BTW reporter
App Store rules breach EU tech rules because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday.
What happened
Apple’s, opens new tab App Store rules breach EU tech rules because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday, a charge that could result in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker.
The European Commission, which acts as the European Union’s antitrust and technology regulator, said it sent its preliminary findings to Apple after launching an investigation in March.
The charge against Apple is the first under the Commission’s landmark Digital Markets Act, aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech and ensuring a level playing field for smaller rivals. It has until March next year to issue a final decision.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager cited issues with Apple’s new terms.
“As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them,” she told a conference.
The Commission stated that under most of the business terms, Apple only permits steering through ‘link-outs’, which allows app developers to include a link in their app redirecting customers to a web page where they can finalize a contract.
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Why it’s important
The Commission also criticised the fees charged by Apple for facilitating via the App Store the initial acquisition of a new customer by developers, saying they went beyond what was strictly necessary for such remuneration.
Apple said it had made a number of changes in the past several months to comply with the DMA after getting feedback from developers and the Commission.
“We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created,” the company said in an email.
The EU executive said it was also opening an investigation into the iPhone maker over its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores and whether these were necessary and proportionate.
DMA breaches can cost companies fines as much as 10% of their global annual turnover.
