Apple Offers Small Concession To Relax App Store Rules For Netflix, Others

SAN FRANCISCO / TOKYO, September 1 (Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) further relaxed App Store rules on Wednesday, allowing some content companies like Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) to provide links to their websites so customers can sign up for paid accounts.

The concession was part of a deal with Japan’s anti-trust regulator, which said the change was enough to allow it to close a five-year investigation into Apple that focused on video and music applications but no did not take into account the games.

Also read: Exclusive – Apple fell victim to antitrust case in India over in-app payment issues

The US tech giant, however, still faces a series of other legal and regulatory challenges to the rules it forces game makers to follow, including a closely watched antitrust lawsuit brought by the creator of “Fortnite. “Epic Games.

The ban on providing separate links has been lifted for so-called reading apps that provide content such as e-books, videos and music that do not offer a free level of service, but require payment. during registration.

The change is expected to take effect early next year and will be applied globally, said Apple, which will retain final say on which apps are considered reading apps.

Some companies said the concession was not enough.

“A limited anti-directional patch doesn’t solve all of our problems,” Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) said in a statement. The music streaming company is pursuing an antitrust complaint against Apple with competition authorities in the European Union.

Apple’s App Store is the core of its $ 53.8 billion service segment, and collects 15% to 30% commissions on in-app purchases.

Its rules for game makers have been among the most controversial, particularly the contested practice by Epic Games of not allowing developers to use other forms of payment in apps.

This case may determine whether Apple can retain control over the apps that appear on its devices and whether it is allowed to charge commissions to developers.

Responding to Apple’s latest App Store announcement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney accused Apple of trying to appease itself with insufficient piecemeal measures.

Apple should open up iOS on the basis of hardware, stores, payments, and services, each competing individually on their own merits. Instead, they’re literally doing a day-to-day recalculation of divide and conquer in the hope of s ‘get away with most of their tying practices,’ he said on Twitter.

An official with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission stressed that the scope of his investigation did not cover gambling.

“It is also possible that an investigation will be carried out into the games,” he told a press conference.

Apple holds 46.5% of the Japanese smartphone market, of which more than 30 million are sold each year.

The iPhone maker’s latest concession is the second in as many weeks. It struck a deal last week with a group of developers in the United States as part of a class action lawsuit, ending their ban on notifying users by email about payment alternatives.

In one of its latest challenges, South Korea on Tuesday banned major app store operators, including Apple, from forcing developers to use their payment systems, preventing them from charging commissions on purchases. integrated.

The company faces similar legislative action in the United States and Europe.

It also faces a similar new antitrust challenge in India that was launched by a nonprofit group, according to a source and documents seen by Reuters.

Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Written by Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Peter Cooney and Edwina Gibbs

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