Report from TechCrunch
In Brief – Apple has announced more changes to its European app developer policies to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and avoid more fines from the European Commission. They expand the ability of developers to communicate with customers about alternative payments methods and propose a new set of fees for developers who choose to avoid the Apple commissions collected on payments for in-app purchases. The changes are the latest bid to resolve a series of decisions by the Commission that Apple does not meet the DMA’s anti-steering rules, including a ruling in April to fine the company $500 million. Apple’s new rules allow developers to link to alternative ways to pay for purchases on any channel, including websites, alternative app marketplace, and within another app, and won’t require warning screens. Apple is also introducing a new fee structure involving a customer acquisition fee and a tiered store services fee for different levels of service. Long-time critic Epic Games called the Apple offer “blatantly illegal”.
Context – The Commission fined Meta €200 million in April as well for failing to comply with DMA. Both matters boil down to fights over the fees, meaning the prices charged by the digital giants. With Apple, large app developers object to commissions that often reach 30% and have lobbied regulators to stop Apple from forcing them to use the Apple payment service that collects the fees. Apple keeps proposing schemes to collect fees in different ways. Shockingly, app developers keep wanting to pay less. The same fight is underway in US federal court. Meta’s pricing is at the heart of their DMA standoff too. The Commission has rejected the price of “ad-free” versions of Facebook and Instagram, the language that Meta uses to describe them to customers, and demands that Meta offers a “free” version with ads that are not targeted and therefore sell for far less to advertisers. Meta’s latest offer reportedly involves minimal changes and the company says it will appeal to EU courts arguing that all other digital platforms are allowed to simply offer users a choice of a free version with targeted ads or a paid ad-free subscription.