Apple extends fee waiver for digital courses in the App Store

Apple said on Monday that companies that offer digital courses or virtual events through iPhone apps won’t have to use in-app purchases from Apple’s App Store until June 2021, allowing them to bill directly their customers without Apple’s 30% commission fee.

Apple said that the extension was intended to help businesses by giving them more time to spend in person at digital event events during the pandemic Covid-19.

“Although apps are required to offer paid online group event experiences (unique real-time and one-to-many experiences) through in-app purchases in accordance with Guideline 3.1.1 for the Review of the App Store, we have temporarily deferred this requirement with an initial deadline of December 2020, ”Apple wrote on its developer blog.“ To allow more time to develop in-app purchasing solutions, this deadline has been postponed to June 30, 2021. “

An Apple spokesperson did not comment beyond Monday’s announcement.

This decision is the latest olive branch to critics of Apple’s App Store, which say that the control of the iPhone giant on the platform and fees are anticompetitive. Apple also announced earlier this month its intention to reduce its commission to 15% for developers of applications winner less than $ 1 million on Apple platforms in 2021.

Apple initially waived the in-app purchase requirement for group classes and events in September, after Facebook introduced a paid events feature and attempted to include a copy in its apps warning that a discount of transactions for paid events would go to Apple. But at the time, Apple only suspended its fees until December. Monday’s announcement extended it for another 6 months.

Apple requires iPhone applications use payment processing from the Apple App Store, which takes 30% of total payments, and has been a target of antitrust policy makers worldwide. However, the products in person, as to order a ride through Uber or buy something from an online retailer, are not required to apply payments to the App Store.

In September, Apple clarified that one-to-one lessons through an iPhone app could be billed directly, but all virtual lessons in which an instructor or group worked with multiple people must use App Store payments.

The New York Times reported in July that some app makers, such as Airbnb and ClassPass, were changing their business model to include more digital courses as in-person experiences were negatively impacted by the pandemic, and Apple had asked them to use in-app purchases. which entitles them to 30% of the sale.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the company’s policies regarding virtual courtyards and events during a congressional hearing in July by the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jerry Nadler.

“The pandemic is a tragedy and it is hurting Americans and many people around the world and we will never benefit from it,” Cook said. “I think the cases you’re talking about are cases where something has moved on to a digital service, which technically has to go through our commission model.”