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A few months afteropeninga non - compliance case on Apple and theDigital Markets Act(DMA ) , the European Commission has shared its preliminary findings with Apple . And the bottom bloodline is that the current App Store rulesare in breach of the DMA . Confirmed irreverence of the DMA can conduct to fine of up to 10 % of planetary annual turnover .
“ ‘ behave different ’ should be their new slogan , ” the EU ’s internal market place commissioner , Thierry Breton , wroteon X. “ For too long , Apple has been squeezing out innovative companies — denying consumer new opportunity & pick . ”
In this fussy case , the European Commission believes third - political party developers should be capable to inform customers of alternative purchasing opening — barren of charge .
For instance , developers who have released apps on the App Store ca n’t advertise different prices or alternative distribution channels in their apps . While Apple now allow for developer to include a link to their site , the European Commission believes there are too many restriction with this link - out mechanism .
Even if developer redirect users to their web site and handle proceedings on their websites , they have to report dealing to Apple and pay a commission . Apple only relinquish a 3 % payment processing fee for web purchases .
“ Apple has made a act of change to comply with the DMA in reception to feedback from developer and the European Commission , ” the company said in a financial statement . “ We are confident our plan follow with the law , and guess more than 99 % of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business concern terms we create . ”
In addition to these preliminary finding , the European Commission is opening a third non - compliance investigation into Apple ’s novel contractual terms for EU developers . This clock time , the Commission is break down to sharpen on Apple ’s controversial Core Technology Fee ( CTF ) and alternative app marketplaces .
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European developers can remain on the received business terms or choose new byplay terms that give up them to propagate their apps outside of the App Store . However , these new terms head to a € 0.50 fee per installed app after one million downloads .
The companionship has alreadyadjusted the CTFso that it does n’t implement to gratuitous non - commercial-grade apps . There ’s also a three - year changeover period of time for diminished developer that liberate a hit app and get more than one million downloads for the first clip . But that does n’t change much in the long term . With this new formal investigating , the EC will find out whether the CTF efficaciously complies with the DMA .
If you ’ve attempt to instal a third - political party app entrepot in the EU , such asthe AltStore , Setapp MobileorAptoide , you may have noticed that it requires quite a few taps . You first get an error in your web web browser . You have to spread the configurations app , accept app installations from this website , go back to your connection web browser , download the substitute storehouse again , and accept popups about the risks involved with a third - party app store . The EC will try out this “ multi - step user journey ” and its compliance with the DMA rule .
“ We are implicated that Apple design its new business modeling to discourage app developers and cease users from taking vantage of the opportunity afforded to them by the DMA , ” Margrethe Vestager , the Commission EVP in charge of contender policy , articulate ina words .
“ The missive of the DMA is exculpated : gatekeeper have to earmark for substitute app stores to found themselves on their weapons platform , and for consumer to be fully informed about the whirl available to them so that they can freely choose where they want to source their apps , and at what condition , ” she added .
As for today ’s preliminary findings , Apple can now react to the European Commission in authorship . The final decision is due one year after the opening of the conventional investigation , which mean that Apple can negociate with the EU and adjust its business terms once again to avoid a sizeable fine .
