Apple has come under fire for Spotify and other apps, claiming that its high commission rates stifle innovation.
Angela Lang / CNET
Before an antitrust hearing on Capitol Hill next week, Apple is grappling with the perception that its App Store is charging onerous developer commission fees. He hired economists from the Analysis Group firm, who said the tech giant’s fees were similar to those of the competition.
The investigation, released Wednesday, collected commission rates reported or disclosed by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and other app stores. The company’s economists also studied ticket resale markets, game stores, and transportation applications. Overall, economists said the fees charged were similar, although stores generally offered different features for consumers and developers.
“Commission rates charged by digital markets most similar to the App Store, like other app stores and digital video game markets, are generally around 30%,” economists in the study wrote. Economists also widely defended these commission rates, saying this system reduces “entry barriers for small vendors and developers by minimizing up-front payments, and reinforces the market incentive to promote matches that generate high value in the long term.” .
See this:
Bezos agrees to testify, Star Wars: Squadrons announced
1:45
Economists did not analyze whether tariffs stifle innovation or whether they are fair, concerns that developers have raised.
Apple’s published investigation comes just before next week’s Congressional hearing on competition in digital markets. The high-profile audience will include testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook as well as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The hearing will be held on July 27 by the Antimonopoly Subcommittee of the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives.
“Since last June, the subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and their enforcement,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and antitrust subcommittee chairman David Cicilline in a joint statement. “Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs be forthcoming.”
Regulators in the US and Europe have stepped up their investigations into the practices of major tech companies, including Apple.
In June, the European Commission opened two antitrust probes, looking at Apple Pay and the Apple App Store. In the case of Apple Pay, regulators are investigating whether Apple unfairly blocks competitors from using NFC wireless transmission technology that Apple Pay power on their gadgets Regarding the App Store, researchers are investigating whether the restrictions Apple imposes on developers competition hurts. The music service Spotify triggered the investigation when it filed a complaint with the EU more than a year ago.
Other app developers have also complained that Apple is cutting competition. In June, Apple faced an uproar within its developer community when it rejected a new email app called Hey because it was not offering in-app purchases for its $ 99 per year email service. Instead, people signed up online with Hey maker Basecamp, leaving Apple without the 30% commission. Apple and Hey resolved the confrontation when the email provider included a free trial option in your app.
Regulators in the United States are also reviewing Apple’s business practices. The Department of Justice has talked to various companies who are “unhappy” with the way Apple manages its App Store, according to reports from Politico and Reuters this year.
CNET’s global team will cover Next week’s Congressional hearing, even with the real-time updates, comments, and analysis you can only get here.
