After the decision of the US Supreme Court in the case initiated by Epic Games, Apple was supposed to allow app developers to offer customers purchases outside the App Store. But the company from Cupertino is not going to refuse the charges of the commission.
Because the court ruled that Apple was entitled to a commission, the company could set its own rate for purchases of goods and services outside of its app store. Apple set this rate at just 27%. This is less than the company's standard commission of 30%, but due to the handling conditions, it is no longer profitable for developers to advertise the purchase of their products and services through applications.
Apple's decision has already angered some major players in the software market, including Spotify.
“Apple has shown once again that it will stop at nothing to protect the profits it collects from developers and consumers under its monopoly on the app store. Their latest move in the US to impose a 27% fee on out-of-app transactions on the developer's website is outrageous and flies in the face of the court's efforts to ensure more competition and choice for users. This action follows similar circumvention steps taken by Apple in South Korea and the Netherlands,” the company said in a statement cited by 9to5Mac.
In addition to Spotify, Epic Games and the Coalition for App Fairness associated with them expressed dissatisfaction. Developers have expressed doubt that Apple is complying with the court order in this way.
For some developers, Apple has closed the possibility of using external links, which also seems to contradict the court decision, writes TechCrunch. Apple has announced that apps participating in the Apple Video Partner Program or News Partner Program will not be eligible to embed links.
As a reminder, the developer of the Fortnite game Epic Games filed antitrust lawsuits against the tech giants Apple and Google in August 2020, accusing them of using monopolized practices in their app stores, due to which app and game developers are forced to pay high percentages of royalties.
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Epic Games v. Apple, upholding a lower court ruling. The latter did not find Apple guilty of anti-competitive actions and forced the company to change its approach to App Store programs. Apple should have lifted the ban on developers sending users to third-party sites to purchase their services outside the app. After the Supreme Court's decision, Apple created complex rules for developers that dictate exactly what an ad link should look like, what apps can contain the link, and more. Additionally, despite allowing links to external payment methods, Apple has decided to continue charging transaction fees (12% for App Store Small Business members and 27% for other programs).