Apple is currently in the middle of a heated dispute with Epic Games (maker of Fortnite) over terms of the App Store, as the company sees the number of anti-trust investigations focusing on App Store policies continue to grow . Now the news publishers are joining as well.
A letter signed by a trade group representing top newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Post says that Apple’s rules prevent it from investing in quality journalism. Among other changes, the letter calls for Apple to reduce cut-offs of in-app purchases to 15%.
Currently, Apple charges 30% commission on the first year of an in-app subscription. It then reduces its cut to 15% if the customer continues their subscription beyond that time. The news outlets are asking Apple to change its policy so that it only takes a 15% cut from the start.
Court documents reveal that Apple has privately assigned these terms to Amazon, in order to attract Prime Video to its platform. This seems to be the central motivation behind this letter from the retail group: why is Apple willing to give these favorable terms to Amazon, but not to other media companies?
The inclusion of the Wall Street Journal here is significant because the newspaper has been Apple’s main partner for News +, even when other major newspapers escaped the service. However, the complaints raised in this letter seem to focus solely on the economy of the App Store.
Apple is under investigation by the European Competition Commission and a U.S. Government Judicial Commission, which are questioning whether Apple’s monopoly control of the App Store is unfair and illegal.
Spotify really started the legal challenges by filing a formal complaint with the EU, claiming that the App Store rules mean it can not compete honestly with Apple’s own streaming music service.
Epic Games erupted a week ago with a public outcry that removed Fortnite from the App Store. Apple is currently threatening to deactivate Fortnite’s developer account if the company does not update its app to comply with the App Store rules.
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