Yesterday Apple announced changes to iOS in Brazil to placate the country’s regulatory agency, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE).
As might be expected, Epic Games isn’t happy with the changes. In a statement to 9to5Mac, the Coalition for App Fairness (whose founding members include Epic, Basecamp, Deezer, Match, ProtonMail, Spotify, and Tile, among others) said:
The terms Apple announced today following CADE’s investigation don’t create an open and competitive app ecosystem in Brazil. Developers who choose to distribute their apps through alternative stores or offer payments outside of the App Store are penalized for doing so with high fees and overbearing tracking requirements. The policy continues to guarantee Apple an unfair advantage and prevents innovation in app stores with a significant new tax on commerce.”
Epic Games similarly criticized the new terms, saying: Today, Apple announced the same anticompetitive policies for alternative app stores and purchases outside apps in Brazil that they are trying to get away with in Japan. Intentionally designed to thwart competition, Apple’s terms and junk fees dissuade developers from distributing outside the App Store and from offering alternative payment options. This means consumers won’t have access to special offers outside the App Store and will likely face a similar burdensome third party app store install flow that Apple requires in Japan.
This is just the latest in the years-long battle between Epic and Apple. You can read more here.
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