Apple’s App Store rules change my get EU approval soon: Report
Apple’s updates to its App Store rules and fees are likely to get approval from EU antitrust regulators soon, says a report by news agency Reuters. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report states that this could help the Cupertino-based company avoid large daily fines. Last month, the iPhone maker said that developers will soon be required to pay a 20% processing fee for purchases made via the App Store. For Apple’s small-business program, the fees could go as low as 13%. The changes were announced after the EU antitrust regulator fined Apple with a 500 million euro ($586.7 million) fine in April this year. The regulator then gave it 60 days to comply with the Digital Markets Act.
App Store changes announced by Apple
As announced by Apple, developers who send customers outside the App Store for payment will pay a fee between 5% and 15%. Further, they will also be able to use as many links as they wish to send users to outside forms of payment.Apple said that it had introduced these changes to avoid punitive daily fines. It also criticised the Commission for mandating how it runs its stores. If not implemented, Apple may have to pay daily fines of 5% of its average daily worldwide revenue, or about 50 million euros per day.As per Reuters report, the European Commission is expected to approve the changes in the coming weeks. Timing, however, could still change, it added.“All options remain on the table. We are still assessing Apple’s proposed changes,” the EU watchdog said.
