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To comply with EU competition rules, Apple is making some adjustments to policies it has so far held on to as sacrosanct. But not everyone is happy with the method.
There appears to be a small hole appearing in Apple’s walled garden as the company has confirmed it will allow EU users to download apps from competing app stores on iOS.
In a set of major changes to its EU services announced yesterday (25 January), Apple said it will give users and developers in the bloc unprecedented choice in order for the company to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was introduced in 2022 to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour among Big Tech companies.
Apple has always insisted its closed ecosystem is good for security. Despite this exception for the EU market, the company said it has no plans to expand the changes into other markets.
“Inevitably, the new options for developers’ EU apps create new risks to Apple users and their devices. Apple can’t eliminate those risks, but within the DMA’s constraints, the company will take steps to reduce them,” the company wrote.
“Across every change, Apple is introducing new safeguards that reduce – but don’t eliminate – new risks the DMA poses to EU users.”
As part of iOS 17.4, Apple will charge a “core technology fee” of €0.50 for “each first annual install per year” for developers whose apps have more than 1m downloads. It will apply to both apps that switch to their own marketplaces or remain on the App Store.
Additionally, developers who continue to use the App Store will see their commission rate drop from 30pc to 17pc, while the discounted rate for certain developers will drop from 15pc to 10pc. Developers who distribute and facilitate in-app payments outside the App Store will pay no commission.
Epic criticism
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has criticised Apple’s EU changes as an “anticompetitive scheme rife with junk fees” and called it an example of “malicious compliance” with the DMA.
Apple's plan to thwart Europe's new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.
They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive…
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 25, 2024
In a post on X, Sweeney wrote: “They [Apple] are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new junk fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.”
He also says later in the post that Epic is determined to launch the Epic Games Store on iOS and Android.
The gaming company was involved in a dramatic court battle with Apple last year around its App Store policies. A US appeals court upheld a 2021 ruling between Epic and Apple last March, and largely rejected claims by Epic that App Store policies violated antitrust rules.
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