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Apple said it will let developers steer consumers to alternative apps and is implementing new fees after it faced criticism from the European Commission.
Apple has made changes to how its App Store operates in the EU, after facing accusations that it is breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The new rules are a direct response to the issues the European Commission listed earlier this year. The Commission said the App Store rules were in breach of the DMA, as they prevented app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels.
The latest update removes these previously imposed restrictions for developers with apps in the EU. The company said developers will be able to promote offers for purchases available “at a destination of their choice” under the updated terms, which will apply in the autumn.
“The destination can be an alternative app marketplace, another app or a website and it can be accessed outside the app or via a web view that appears in the app,” Apple wrote in a blogpost.
The new rules will also let developers design and execute offer promotions within their own apps and can use “an actionable link that can be tapped, clicked or scanned to take users to their destination”.
Apple has also faced criticism in the past for the fees it imposes on developers. In its earlier claims, the European Commission said the fee Apple receives when developers acquire a new customer from the App Store is “beyond what is strictly necessary for such remuneration”.
But Apple’s new terms include an updated fee structure for apps that link out to a web page. This includes an initial acquisition fee and a store services fee.
The initial acquisition fee is a payment Apple receives on all sales of digital goods and services that a customer makes “on any platform” within a 12-month period after an initial install. This fee is at 5pc.
Meanwhile, the store services fee is a similar commission Apple will receive on sales of digital goods and services, that a customer makes on any platform within a fixed 12-month period, including app updates and reinstalls. This fee is listed as 10pc, except for “App Store Small Business Program participants or a qualifying auto-renewal subscription beyond one year”, which only have to pay 5pc.
Time will tell if these new rules are enough to appease the EU. Apple has offered potential changes in the past to try to comply with the DMA but these proposals faced criticism.
Apple also announced that it was delaying the release of new features, including Apple Intelligence, for its products in the EU, due to the challenges of complying with the DMA.
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