Apple has updated its terms and policies for app developers in the EU, ostensibly to better comply with the EU’s digital market laws. The new compliance plan allows developers to link to external payment systems or promote other platforms, but the new terms also include a new fee that allows Apple to collect a set amount from each purchase. The company recently settled an antitrust lawsuit with the EU and agreed to open up its Apple Pay platform to external payment options.
The new rules are: Developer Support Websitewhich lists all the different percentages Apple takes from each purchase, regardless of where it’s purchased. The fee structure is different for users who sign up under Apple’s new terms and those who are part of the existing terms.
For developers who sign up under the new terms, Apple will collect an initial acquisition fee of 5% on all sales of digital goods and services made within 12 months after the first app install, and a store services fee of 10% on all sales made within 12 months after install (including reinstalls).
Developers who are already under Apple’s existing terms will face heavier penalties of 20% for 12 months after install if they add external links (though this drops to 7% for App Store Small Business Program participants).
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These new policies have already drawn criticism from companies that make some of the most popular apps on the App Store. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said: I said it with X“Apple continues its egregious compliance practices by charging an illegal 15% junk fee to users who switch to competing stores and by policing commerce in competing stores.”
Spotify Statement to TechCrunch“By demanding a 25% fee for what appears to be basic user communications, Apple is once again blatantly ignoring the basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission has made it clear that imposing ongoing fees on fundamental elements such as pricing and links is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, impose daily fines and enforce the DMA.”
