Apple & Google's App Store monopoly, crushing potential competitors with exploitative fees

hawki · Aug 22, 2020

"Epic Games to Hold Anti-Apple Fortnite Tournament This Weekend

Fortnite's developer plans on awarding anti-Apple prizes to participants, including a player skin designed to depict Apple as a sour and soulless company.

The next Fortnite tournament will be more than just fun and games: Epic Games also wants to troll Apple during the event by offering prizes intended to mock the iPhone maker.

Epic Games has scheduled a “#FreeFortnite” cup for Sunday to rally gamers around Epic in its antitrust feud against Apple..."

https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/article...0KS-1.fit_scale.size_1028x578.v1598024586.jpg

https://www.pcmag.com/news/epic-games-to-hold-anti-apple-fortnite-tournament-this-weekend

guest · Aug 23, 2020

mood said: ↑

WordPress claims Apple cut off updates to its completely free app because it wants 30 percent
August 21, 2020
https://www.reportdoor.com/wordpres...pletely-free-app-because-it-wants-30-percent/
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Apple didn't force in-app purchases on Wordpress
August 22, 2020
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/22/apple-apologizes-for-wordpress-ios-app-snafu

Apple has clarified the situation with the WordPress iOS app, apologizing for the mistake of blocking developer updates to the app until they added in-app purchases, despite the app not including any functionality involving payments.

On Friday, it was reported the lack of app updates for the WordPress app were due to it being "locked" on the App Store.
In a statement provided to AppleInsider on Saturday, Apple claims the issue with the app has been "resolved" overnight.

"Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free stand-alone app and does not have to offer in-app purchases," states Apple. "We have informed the developer and apologize for any confusion that we have caused."
The confusion surrounding in-app purchases arrives at a time when the App Store is facing intense scrutiny.
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guest · Aug 23, 2020

Microsoft legal filing supports Unreal Engine’s continued access to Apple tools
August 23, 2020
https://venturebeat.com/2020/08/23/...real-engines-continued-access-to-apple-tools/

Microsoft filed a legal document in support of Epic Games to support its request to prevent Apple from cutting off support for Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.

Ten days ago, Epic Games changed its iOS Fortnite app to allow players to make direct payments that circumvented Apple’s 30% fee for all apps on its platform.
Last week, Apple further threatened to remove Epic Games’ access to Apple’s developer support tools, an act that could prevent games based on Epic’s Unreal Engine — which has 11 million users — from running on iOS or Mac devices.

Microsoft’s move is a big one, as it shows support for an early decision in favor of Epic Games in a case that could last for a while. Microsoft didn’t express an opinion about whether it supports Epic’s antitrust lawsuit.
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He said Microsoft has an enterprise-wide license to Unreal and has invested significant resources and engineer time customizing the engine for its own games.

“Denying Epic access to Apple’s SDK and other development tools will prevent Epic from supporting Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and will place Unreal Engine and those game creators that have built, are building, and may build games on it at a substantial disadvantage,” Gammill said in the filing.
Paul Swanson, antitrust expert and counsel at Holland & Hart, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the case is reminiscent of the antitrust litigation between the federal government and Microsoft in the 1990s.

“So when Apple kicks Fortnite off the App Store, it’s not like Apple has its own competing game, so it’s a lot different from what you saw in the 1990s with Microsoft and a classic antitrust case,” Swanson said. “That’s why this case starts with an uphill climb.”
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Rather than trying to hurt a competitor, Apple is trying to protect its own pricing, Swanson said.
Higher pricing is a sign of monopoly power, but it’s not necessarily a sign of an antitrust violation, if innovation has enabled Apple to get that monopoly power through rightful means, Swanson said.

But while Apple is within its rights, Swanson said it’s another matter about whether it’s politically wise to kick Epic, which is not even asking for monetary damages, out of the app store [...]
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guest · Aug 25, 2020

Apple ordered to not block Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, but Fortnite to stay off App Store
August 25, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/24/a...al-engine-but-fortnite-to-stay-off-app-store/

A district court denied Epic Games’ motion to temporarily restore Fortnite game to the iOS App Store, but also ordered Apple to not block the gaming giant’s ability to provide and distribute Unreal Engine on the iPhone-maker’s ecosystem in a mixed-ruling delivered Monday evening.

U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said Apple can’t retaliate against Epic Games by blocking the gaming firm’s developer accounts or restrict developers on Apple platforms from accessing the widely-used Unreal Engine tools.

“The record shows potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally, including on both third-party developers and gamers,” she said, adding that even as Epic Games violated App Store’s guidelines, it did not breach any contracts related to Unreal Engine and developer tools.
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“Apple has chosen to act severely, and by doing so, has impacted non-parties, and a third-party developer ecosystem,” said Rogers.
The Monday ruling caps — for now — the high-stake public battle between giants Apple and Epic Games over the fundamental rules of iPhone’s App Store. Epic broke Apple’s and Google’s app stores guidelines earlier this month when it provided Fortnite users on iOS and Android the ability to pay it directly.
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guest · Aug 26, 2020

South Korea to Review App Market Fees amid Concerns over Google’s Potential Policy Changes
August 26, 2020
http://koreabizwire.com/s-korea-to-...-over-googles-potential-policy-changes/167859

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday it will survey local app developers over fees levied by mobile app market platform operators amid concerns surrounding potential changes to Google’s platform payment policy.

Google currently requires local game apps on its platform to use its in-app payment system, which takes a 30 percent cut for digital content purchases, according to the ICT ministry.
The U.S. tech giant is expected to expand the requirement to all digital content apps.
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The ministry’s survey, the first of its kind, will check mobile platform fees across the broader industry and the potential impact on app developers’ sales due to Google’s purported policy changes and the resulting increases to app prices for users.

“We are closely monitoring the increasing influence of online platform operators and preparing policies to respond to such changes,” the ICT ministry said in a statement.
The move comes after local app developers and tech companies recently lodged complaints to the country’s telecommunications regulator over in-app payment systems required by Google and Apple on their platforms.
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Local app developers have argued that the app market policies by the two tech giants could be in violation of local laws that restrict telecommunications service operators from obstructing users in selecting other services.
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guest · Aug 28, 2020

Exclusive: Facebook says Apple rejected its attempt to tell users about App Store fees
August 28, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tell-users-about-app-store-fees-idUSKBN25O042

Facebook Inc on Thursday told Reuters that Apple Inc rejected its attempt to tell users the iPhone maker would take a 30% cut of sales in a new online events feature, forcing Facebook to remove the message to get the tool to users.

Facebook said that Apple cited an App Store rule that bars developers from showing “irrelevant” information to users.

“Now more than ever, we should have the option to help people understand where money they intend for small businesses actually goes. Unfortunately Apple rejected our transparency notice around their 30% tax but we are still working to make that information available inside the app experience,” Facebook said in a statement.
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guest · Aug 28, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg Said Apple Has A “Stranglehold” On Your iPhone
August 28, 2020
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/zuckerberg-apple-monopoly

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a swing at Apple on Thursday, calling the iPhone maker's app store monopolistic and harmful to customers during a companywide meeting.

“[Apple has] this unique stranglehold as a gatekeeper on what gets on phones,” Zuckerberg said to more than 50,000 employees via webcast. He added that the Cupertino, California–based company’s app store “blocks innovation, blocks competition” and “allows Apple to charge monopoly rents.”
“That’s innovation that could really improve people’s lives,” Zuckerberg said on Thursday. “And Apple’s just balking at it.”
After this story was published, Facebook made video of the meeting public.
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guest · Aug 28, 2020

Apple shuts down Epic Games developer account
August 28, 2020
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/28/apple-shuts-down-epic-games-developer-account

Apple has terminated Epic Games' developer account, effectively removing access to the company's suite of games including Fortnite.

The Cupertino tech giant on Friday followed through with a promise to shut down Epic's developer account on Aug. 28. Epic attempted to block the action by filing a restraining order earlier this month, but a U.S. District Court denied that request on Monday.
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In a statement to AppleInsider Friday, Apple confirmed that it had shut down the Epic developer account and that the game company would no longer be able to submit new apps or app updates to the App Store.

In a statement to AppleInsider Friday, Apple confirmed that it had shut down the Epic developer account and that the game company would no longer be able to submit new apps or app updates to the App Store. "We are disappointed that we had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store," Apple said."We are disappointed that we had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store," Apple said.
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guest · Aug 31, 2020

'This isn't the 1990s': Apple under pressure from app developers
August 30, 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...990s-apple-under-pressure-from-app-developers

The company’s rigid control of the iPhone App Store, long a source of friction for developers large and small, became a battleground over the summer, as Apple began to tighten policies requiring developers to pay the company a cut of commerce on the store.

That led to a noisy public standoff with $99-a-year (£74) email app Hey, which was blocked from the App Store over its refusal to allow subscribers to sign up in-app (so avoiding the 30% cut that Apple would have demanded otherwise).

“We thought we knew all the written and unwritten rules,” David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founder of Hey’s developer, Basecamp, told the Guardian.
“But then we, with all this knowledge … can be a victim of their capricious policies. If they kick you out of the App Store, it’s like you don’t exist.”
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But even when Apple tries to make friends, the company has found itself diving into new conflicts. In April, Amazon made a surprising announcement: Amazon Prime customers would be able to buy streaming movies and TV shows on iOS using the credit card they have saved on file.
Now others want the same deal.

The push to offer special deals to individual developers may allow the largest companies to thrive on the App Store but risks undercutting Apple’s favourite defence of its model: that it underpins the broad-based success of the “app economy”.

“I hope the company will at least consider the possibility that this isn’t the 1990s, they’re not about to go out of business and that being perceived as an asset to developers and not a tax opens up the possibility of growing the pie, not simply taking their slice,” writes the influential analyst Ben Thompson, the founder of Stratechery.
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guest · Sep 2, 2020

Russia may cap App Store fees at 20 percent
September 2, 2020
https://www.idownloadblog.com/2020/09/02/russia-app-store-fee-cap-vote/

The Russian Parliament will soon vote on a bill that would cap the commission companies like Apple and Google charge on the sale of apps in digital stores to twenty percent. Last month, Russia’s anti-monopoly body alleged Apple abused its dominant position via the App Store.

As a quick backgrounder, Apple’s standard fee on the sale of apps and subscriptions in the App Store is thirty percent. In case of subscriptions, however, the company lowers its fee from thirty to fifteen percent after a subscriber’s first full year of service.
Reuters has the story [...]
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Tumosov said on social media that the bill would also force Apple to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone and iPad, which is precisely what developer Epic Games has been trying to accomplish with its recent anti-Apple crusade and legal moves.
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Now, I may swallow the fact that governments may try to impose caps on fees charged in stores, whether physical or digital. But what’s up with potentially requiring developers to pay one-third of their commission (which would be eighty percent if the bill passes the vote)?
And to a “special training fund” aimed at IT specialists? Why should anyone selling apps in the Russian App Store pay to teach people how to use computers? And on a quarterly basis?

The Reuters article provides no further explanation on that.
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guest · Sep 2, 2020

Apple-Epic row being closely watched by German antitrust chief
September 2, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...tched-by-german-antitrust-chief-idUSKBN25T1QS

Germany’s antitrust watchdog is following closely a legal row over Apple’s App Store payment terms, saying on Wednesday it could in principle open a national inquiry.

“This has most certainly attracted our interest,” said Andreas Mundt, head of the Federal Cartel Office. “We are at the beginning, but we are looking at this very closely.”
Although the Bonn-based authority does have the power to impose fines, it typically undertakes administrative probes into big technology firms to establish whether they are abusing their market dominance and then seeks a change in the way they work.
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guest · Sep 4, 2020

Google is pushing to get Epic’s Fortnite antitrust case dismissed
It also opposes merging its case with Apple's
September 4, 2020
https://www.wraltechwire.com/2020/0...-get-epics-fortnite-antitrust-case-dismissed/

Google has announced that it would bring a motion to dismiss the complaint filed against it by Epic Games.

A Sept. 3 filing made on Google’s behalf by Morgan Lewis’ Brian Rocca, confirms the search giant plans to challenge Epic’s complaint “based on circumstances unique to Android.”
Epic also is suing Apple for its ban of Fortnite over the same payments issue.

However, Google wants to keep the cases separate, the filing revealed. It argues that the Android and iOS cases do not overlap each other, other than the fact that both platforms compete against one another to attract app developers and end users.
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Google’s lawyers also point out that Google and Apple’s business models and agreements to support rival ecosystems are very different:

While Apple’s iOS allows the distribution of apps only through Apple’s proprietary app store, Android devices, in contrast: (1) can have multiple app stores simultaneously pre-installed or downloaded and (2) allow for end users to sideload apps via the Internet. [...] As a result, Apple and Google each have their own separate and unique negotiations and contracts with app developers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
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guest · Sep 5, 2020

Epic asks court to protect them from monopolist Apple’s retaliation: “Apple will attempt to destroy your business”
September 5, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/epic-apple-antitrust-case/

Epic has continued to litigate their case against Apple both in court AND in the court of public opinion.

In their latest move, the company announced that they had filed for a preliminary injunction against Apple requesting that their App Store account be re-instated and their games made available once again to iOS users.

Today we asked the Court to stop Apple’s retaliation against Epic for daring to challenge its unlawful restrictions while our antitrust case proceeds. This is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from Apple’s costly, anti-competitive control. https://t.co/r2XxhitjMp
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) September 5, 2020
In the 182 page document, they accused Apple of being a monopolist who retaliates against developers who do not toe their line.
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guest · Sep 8, 2020

Apple will seek damages from Epic Games for breach of App Store contract
A new front in the ongoing Fortnite fight
September 8, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/8/2...breach-of-contract-lawsuit-fortnite-app-store

Apple will seek damages against Epic Games for allegedly breaching its contract with the iOS App Store, in a new escalation of the two companies’ ongoing legal fight. The move came in a filing entered on Tuesday, alongside counterclaims for unjust enrichment and tortious interference with Apple’s relationship with its customers.

“Epic’s flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple,” the filing reads. “Left unchecked, Epic’s conduct threatens the very existence of the iOS ecosystem and its tremendous value to consumers.”
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A recent ruling on a temporary restraining order made it unlikely Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store in the immediate future. The same ruling enjoined Apple from taking additional action against another developer account used by Epic to support the Unreal Engine.
Epic’s reply to Apple’s filing is due by September 18th, ahead of a full hearing on September 28th.
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guest · Sep 9, 2020

Apple shutting down Sign in with Apple for Epic Games accounts, here’s how to keep access
September 9, 2020
https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/09/epic-games-sign-in-with-apple-support-ending/

In the latest development of the Epic vs Apple battle, the former is giving a heads up to customers who have used the Sign in with Apple feature to change their login credentials for Epic accounts. That’s because Apple will stop allowing the login option for Epic games accounts on September 11. Follow along for what to do if you have been using Sign in with Apple.
Now Epic is warning its customers about Apple ending the ability to log in with the Sign in with Apple feature.
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Yesterday we saw Apple officially file a countersuit seeking damages from Epic Games breaking its developer contract. That came just a few days after Epic made another attempt to get the Northern California district court to force Apple to allow Fortnite back on the App Store.

Apple will no longer allow users to sign into Epic Games accounts using “Sign In with Apple” as soon as September 11, 2020. If you have previously used “Sign In with Apple”, please update your Epic Games account email address and password immediately so that you can still login after September 11, 2020.
Epic details what to do if you created your account with Sign in with Apple in a support document, here are the step-by-step directions from Epic: [...]
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guest · Sep 10, 2020

Apple will no longer terminate Epic’s usage of ‘Sign In with Apple’ as battle over Fortnite and the App Store continues
September 10, 2020
https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/10/apple-no-longer-terminate-fortnite-sign-in/

Earlier this week, Epic Games said that Apple was going to shut it off from using the Sign in with Apple API, which meant many mobile Fortnite players – those that signed up through Apple’s universal sign in service – would be unable to log into their account altogether. Epic subsequently released account migration FAQs.

In a follow-up tweet posted today, Epic now says that Apple has given them an indefinite extension.
The announcement that Apple was going to withdraw Sign in with Apple support for Epic Games quickly led to a lot of backlash in the Apple community. It was seen as unnecessary retaliatory action that caused much inconvenience to Apple’s user base.

In addition, Many app developers depend on services like Sign in with Apple with implicit trust. That trust was put in jeopardy with Apple’s threat that it would bring down the ban hammer.
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The battle between Apple and Epic Games over the latter’s decision to skirt App Store rules and covertly add a direct purchase option to Fortnite is far from over
The two companies are next set to appear in court together on September 28, and a full trial will take years to resolve.
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guest · Sep 16, 2020

Apple accuses Epic of ‘starting a fire and pouring gasoline on it’ in new Fortnite filing
September 16, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/16/...apple-preliminary-injunction-opposition-brief

Apple has responded to Epic’s demands that the iPhone-maker restore Fortnite to the App Store in new legal filings, arguing that the company’s injuries are “entirely self-inflicted” and that Fortnite can return to iOS at any time — just as soon as Epic removes the custom in-app payment system that triggered the game’s removal in the first place.

“Epic started a fire, and poured gasoline on it, and now asks this Court for emergency assistance in putting it out,” writes Apple in the 37-page opposition brief. “[E]ven though Epic can do so itself in an instant by simply adhering to the contractual terms that have profitably governed its relationship with Apple for years.”
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In parallel with this argument, Apple says Epic’s claim that it’s suffered “reputational harm” from being booted off the App Store is also misleading. The iPhone maker says Epic’s “pre-planned media blitz” shows that it is, in fact, welcoming attention created by this case: [...]
That’s only a small part of Apple’s wider argument, though. If you want to prepare for this month’s court hearing, you can read the opposition brief in full below:
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guest · Sep 24, 2020

To Fight Apple and Google, Smaller App Rivals Organize a Coalition
Spotify, Match Group, Epic Games and others have created a nonprofit alliance
September 24, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/technology/apple-google-coalition-epic-match-spotify.html

For months, complaints from tech companies against Apple’s and Google’s power have grown louder.

Spotify, the music streaming app, criticized Apple for the rules it imposed in the App Store. A founder of the software company Basecamp attacked Apple’s “highway robbery rates” on apps. And last month, Epic Games, maker of the popular game Fortnite, sued Apple and Google, claiming they violated antitrust rules.
Now these app makers are uniting in an unusual show of opposition against Apple and Google and the power they have over their app stores.

“They’ve collectively decided, ‘We’re not alone in this, and maybe what we should do is advocate on behalf of everybody,’” said Sarah Maxwell, a spokeswoman for the group. She added that the new nonprofit would be “a voice for many.”
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For years, smaller rivals were loath to speak up against the mammoth companies for fear of retaliation. But the growing backlash has emboldened them to take action.
The two companies control virtually all of the world’s smartphones through their software and the distribution of apps via their stores. Both also charge a 30 percent fee for payments made inside apps in their systems.

The coalition came together in recent months after discussions among executives at Tile, Epic, Spotify and Match Group, the four companies that have been most vocal in their opposition to the big tech companies, Ms. Maxwell said.
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guest · Sep 25, 2020

Apple Temporarily Waives 30% Fee for Facebook Paid Live Events, but Not for Gaming Creators
September 25, 2020
https://variety.com/2020/digital/ne...ents-waives-30-percent-tax-gaming-1234783624/

In an unusual move, Apple has agreed to not collect the App Store’s 30% “tax” on purchases made through Facebook’s app for live paid events — but only through the end of 2020. Moreover, Apple will still take a 30% cut of paid livestreams from video-game creators using the paid-livestream feature.

The ongoing clash of tech titans is the latest in the public fight some app developers are waging against Apple over its App Store business practices, which they say are unfair.
Facebook complained that Apple agreed only to a short moratorium on collecting in-app fees for paid live events, which it launched last month.

“Apple has agreed to provide a brief, three-month respite after which struggling businesses will have to, yet again, pay Apple the full 30% App Store tax,” Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne said.
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Apple says it has not exempted Facebook gaming creators from the 30% fee because they do not represent a physical business or service affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
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guest · Sep 25, 2020

Google to reportedly prevent developers from bypassing Play Store's billing system from next week
September 25, 2020
https://www.neowin.net/news/google-...ing-play-stores-billing-system-from-next-week

In recent times, Apple has come under criticism from developers for its App Store policies.
Google also has similar guidelines for the Play Store but major developers like Spotify, Netflix, and others bypass them by prompting users to directly pay via a credit card. Google has turned a blind eye to these moves from developers so far but it looks like that's about to change.

A Bloomberg report claims that Google is going to update the Play Store guidelines as early as next week and make it clear that apps must use the company's billing service for in-app purchases, subscriptions, etc. This would also mean that developers will have to share 30 percent of their generated revenue via such transactions with Google.
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Apple generates billions of dollars in revenue every quarter via such transaction fees from the App Store and it looks like Google is also now also looking to tighten its grip around the Play Store to generate more revenue from it.
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Bloomberg: Google to Increase Push for Apps to Give Cut of In-App Purchases

guest · Sep 25, 2020

mood said: ↑

To Fight Apple and Google, Smaller App Rivals Organize a Coalition
Spotify, Match Group, Epic Games and others have created a nonprofit alliance
September 24, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/technology/apple-google-coalition-epic-match-spotify.html
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Why we support app store antitrust investigations
September 24, 2020
https://protonmail.com/blog/coalition-for-app-fairness/

In recent months, regulators in both the US and Europe have begun looking into app store policies. These investigations are not only centered on Apple, but are also looking at Google Play and app stores in general. Proton has long been supportive of these efforts, as we have stated in our first public statements on the matter.

First, app store operators utilize their monopoly power to eliminate competition on mobile payments, forcing all transactions to go through in-app purchases. This lack of competition leads to an artificially high fee of 30%, which is unavoidable. The result of this is higher prices for the consumer.
Notably, the 30% fee does not impact “free” apps (like Gmail), which instead monetize through abusing user privacy. Conversely, apps that leverage a subscription model in order to protect user privacy are subject to these fees.
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Proton is not alone in calling for reform. This week we announced the formation of a new coalition whose goal is to ensure that large app stores receive an appropriate amount of scrutiny and comply with competition laws. While many members of the Proton community have expressed agreement with our objectives, some have questioned our decision to associate with companies like Epic and Spotify.

Therefore, we would like to candidly share some of our reasons for becoming a founding member of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF).
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guest · Sep 26, 2020

Blockbuster Chinese games said to boycott Huawei and Xiaomi app stores over revenue tax
Now Chinese game developers are trying to zap platform tax
September 26, 2020
https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-soci...nese-games-said-boycott-huawei-and-xiaomi-app

The two most anticipated Chinese games this autumn will not be available on the app stores of popular Chinese phone brands Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo amid disagreement over revenue sharing, according to people familiar with the situation.
The withdrawals come after the game developers demanded that the app stores take less than a proposed 50 per cent cut of revenue from game sales on their platforms, according to two people familiar with the situation, who declined to be named as the information is not public.

The stand-off comes in the same week that 13 Western tech companies including Spotify, Epic Games and Match Group formed a coalition to push back at the so-called platform tax that Apple takes from game sales via its app store.

Most Chinese Android-based app stores have historically demanded a 50 per cent cut of the revenue generated by mobile apps on their platforms.
Google Play, which demands a 30 per cent fee, is blocked in China. Apple’s App Store also demands a 30 per cent fee, both in China and outside China.
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In a research report by Sinolink Securities, analyst Pei Pei said a dispute over the revenue split and a desire for more control by developers over their games, were likely the primary reasons for the pull-out.
According to several Chinese media reports, Tencent Holdings and NetEase have both tried to negotiate with app stores to lower the 50 per cent fee over the years.
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guest · Sep 28, 2020

Google to enforce 30% cut on in-app purchases next year
September 28, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/28/google-to-enforce-30percent-cut-on-in-app-purchases-next-year.html

Google said on Monday that it will enforce rules that require app developers distributing Android software on the Google Play Store to use its in-app payment system.

The move means developers have until Sept. 30, 2021 to use Google’s billing system, which takes a 30% fee from payments, instead of independent payment systems. The announcement brings Google Play’s policies in line with Apple’s App Store policies, which have come under fire from developers and regulators over several issues, including its own 30% cut.
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It said 97% of developers selling digital goods already comply with its policies.

“We want to be sure our policies are clear and up to date so they can be applied consistently and fairly to all developers, and so we have clarified the language in our Payments Policy to be more explicit that all developers selling digital goods in their apps are required to use Google Play’s billing system,” Google said in the announcement, signed by Sameer Samat, a VP of product management.
Google’s Play Store doesn’t attract as much attention as Apple’s App Store
Google has received significantly less attention than Apple over its 30% cut, even though its policies are similar to Apple’s.
Google hasn’t taken as much heat on its cut of in-app purchases, however.
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guest · Sep 28, 2020

Apple vs. Epic hearing previews a long, hard-fought trial to come
Judge Rogers has strong words for both sides in the iOS Fortnite battle
September 28, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020...ng-previews-a-long-hard-fought-trial-to-come/

Federal District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers heard arguments this morning regarding Epic's request for a temporary injunction in its case against Apple. That injunction would force Apple to put Fortnite back on the iOS App Store during the trial, following the game's removal last month over Epic's skirting of Apple's in-app purchase rules.

The hearing gave the clearest indication yet of both parties' best arguments in the matter and of which positions seem most likely to hold sway with Rogers as the case heads toward a full trial.
When is a monopolist not a monopolist?
A central issue in the case is Epic's contention that Apple's exclusive control over the iOS App Store constitutes an illegal monopoly that hinders competition. Today's discussion of Epic's claim centered heavily on what market, exactly, Apple is allegedly monopolizing.
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guest · Oct 5, 2020

Google defers new Play Store policy in India until 2022
October 5, 2020
https://androidcommunity.com/google-defers-new-play-store-policy-in-india-until-2022-20201005/

Just like Apple, Google is about to face challenges when it comes to the Play Store’s billing. There are now concerns about the 30% charge of both Apple and Google on its respective app stores. Apple’s issue was further questioned when Epic Games started to challenge the Cupertino family. Now in India, Google is said to be postponing the enforcement of the new billing rule until April 2021. This is a result of a discussion among more than 150 startups and developers over their concerns about Google’s charge on the Play Store.

These developers have mentioned exploring an alternative marketplace for their mobile apps. India is the second-biggest Internet market in the world so such talks are important. Google also has an office in India so it should listen.
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Google Play’s Director of Business Development of Games & Applications Purnima Kochikar said in a statement:

“We are setting up listening sessions with leading Indian startups to understand their concerns more deeply. We will be setting up Policy Workshops to help clear any additional questions about our Play Store policies.”
Developers in India will be given enough time to “integrate with the Play billing system”. This is to ensure that they can properly implement the UPI for a subscription payment option. The timeline will be March 31, 2020 for those who presently use an alternative payment system.

Google wants a 30% cut of the apps distributed via the Play Store. Apple also does this but now both companies are getting scrutiny.
Google should think about this issue because Android has a 99% share of the market in India.
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There is now an alternative app store in India—the Paytm mini app store.
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Reuters: Google defers Indian in-app fees after angry startups complain

Google will now enforce its global policy more strictly and charge a 30% commission fee for in-app purchases from Indian developers from March 31, 2022, the company said, saying it was “being mindful of local needs and concerns”.

On Monday, Paytm’s Sharma posted a newspaper clipping of Google’s decision to defer the fee, saying it “proves who is ruling us”.
In recent days, dozens of Indian entrepreneurs held calls to strategise challenging Google legally and by designing a local mobile application to list apps and reduce dependence on Google.
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