Apple is in last minute negotiations with the European Union to avoid or delay more penalties for its lack of compliance with the Digital Markets Act, reports the Financial Times (a subscription is required to read the article).
The tech giant may offer some concessions to its App Store policies prior to a June 26 deadline that would see it hit with more penalties. The EU wants Apple to offer payment options beyond its own in-app payment system. The EU is also targeting Apple’s Core Technology Fee, which requires that developers in the EU pay a 50% fee per install per year.
In April the European Commission fined Apple and Meta with €500 million (about US$570 million) and €200 million (about $230 million) respectively(about US$570 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
When it comes to Apple, the EC — the executive arm of the European Union — claims that, under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases. The EC alleges that Apple fails to comply with this obligation.
“Due to a number of restrictions imposed by Apple, app developers cannot fully benefit from the advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers as Apple prevents app developers from directly informing consumers of such offers,” the EC says. “The company has failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate.”
