Russian lawmaker introduces bill to limit Apple App Store fees to 20%

Source: Joe Keller / iMore

A Russian lawmaker on Tuesday introduced draft legislation that would limit the percentage that app stores can charge developers.

Reported by Reuters, the bill would limit to twenty percent the commission that companies such as Apple and Google could take when a developer sells an application on their platform. Currently, both companies charge 30% on apps and in-app purchases. Notably, Apple’s fee for subscription services drops to 15% after the first year, so the change would only affect one-time purchases, as well as the first year of service.

A Russian lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday that would cut and limit the commission on the sale of mobile apps by tech giants Apple and Google. The bill, submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament by lawmaker Fedot Tumusov, stipulates that commissions for the sale of apps will be capped at 20%. Apple currently charges a 30% commission on sales in its App Store.

If approved, app vendors would also have to pay a third of their fees toward a fund that trains IT specialists. The lawmaker says that by cutting rates, Russia would create a new growth opportunity for developers.

The bill, if adopted, would also oblige app vendors to pay a third of their commissions to a special training fund for IT specialists on a quarterly basis. “Reducing the commission and having the ability to bring products to users is a growth opportunity for IT developers,” Tumusov wrote on social media.

Last month, a Russian watchdog ruled that Apple’s App Store is anti-competitive and requires the company to comply with regulations that the watchdog claims to have violated. Apple has said it will appeal the decision.

The new bill comes as Apple (as well as Google and other companies) face increasing pressure against the fees and control associated with their app stores. Most notably, Epic Games’ lawsuit in which the developer is suing Apple and Google for what it claims are antitrust violations. In response to the company’s repeated violations of the rules on the App Store, Apple recently terminated the Epic Games developer account.