2024-03-01 17:12:25
Apple’s proposed changes to its App Store policies “disregard” the European Union’s new competition law for big tech companies and amplify its dominance over app developers, an official said Friday. group of more than 30 technology companies and associations, including Spotify.
The move is the latest in an action by Spotify Technology against the iPhone maker’s App Store policies, which some developers and companies view as unfair.
“Apple’s new terms not only ignore the spirit and letter of the law, but if left unchanged, they make a mockery of the Digital Markets Act (DMA),” the group wrote in a letter to the European Commission.
Apple charges up to 30% annual fees to developers who distribute their apps through the App Store and restricts them to its own payment processing system.
In January, the company proposed some changes ahead of a March 7 deadline to comply with certain conditions of the Digital Markets Act, which aims to make it easier for European users to move between competing services.
Apple said it would allow other app stores on iPhones and opt out of the in-app payment system, but would set a “base technology fee” of 50 cents. ‘euro per user account per year for developers who register for the new regime.
“The new fee structure under the proposed new terms appears designed to maintain and even amplify Apple’s exploitation of its dominance over app developers,” said the letter, also signed by US gaming company Epic Games and the French music streaming service Deezer.
Among the signatories of the letter is the European Publishers Council (EPC), which brings together the presidents and CEOs of the main media groups in the region.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton said in January that Apple could face tough action if changes to its App Store did not comply with the new regulations.
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