Apple is once again in the crosshairs of the European Commission and could receive a strong sanction in the coming weeks for evading the Digital Markets Law
Those from Cupertino are on the verge of a new sanction by the European Commission for a violation of the Digital Markets Law. According to Financial Times, The App Store is hindering developers and not allowing them to direct their users to offers outside of the Apple App Store. Another factor that would lead to an eventual sanction is the aforementioned basic technology fee. The only luck that Apple could have to avoid a problemFor now, it is that the precise charges to be fined are still unclear. On Apple’s side, they stated from the beginning that they were adhering to the law at all times.
The European Commission is unhappy with Apple, apparently the sanction is the only way to conciliation
What would be the direct consequence for the aforementioned charges? 5% of your average worldwide income, which notably exceed one billion dollars. Considering the minimum penalty percentage may not be enough, but considering that Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world, the blow will not be easy on your pocket.
Apple’s App Store, subject to criticism for its proposal for alternative stores
Sources familiar with this news indicate that the Commission’s investigations are preliminary., so those from Cupertino have time to avoid problems if charges have not yet been officially filed. There is no estimated time for the latter although they anticipate it will happen in the coming weeks.
iOS 17.4 and the changes made are not enough for the Commission
Let us remember that at the beginning of the yeariOS 17.4 was anticipated as Apple’s version of the operating system that would change the rules of its operation. It allowed alternative stores but with a small trick, for every million annual installations a basic technology fee is charged.
This could mean that smaller, independent developers may not be successful if their apps become popular. The most concrete example of this was pointed out by Riley Testut when his store, AltStore, was about to be launched as the first official alternative store at Apple.
Installing an alternative app store will take you just a few minutes
Other changes arising from the Digital Markets Law include a new selection screen to choose an alternative web browser to Safari. Browsers can also use a web engine other than WebKit on the iPhone. Other apps that function as mobile wallets can access the NFC chip.
Finally, in the coming months with the arrival of iPadOS 18, the same model of alternative stores and other functions seen since iOS 17.4 will be made official. The European Commission determined a few weeks ago that iPadOS is also a gatekeeper and they have 6 months to comply with the rules of the Digital Markets Act. An entity is determined as a gatekeeper by the number of both commercial and enterprise usersby the monetary amount in terms of turnover or market capitalization, among other factors.
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