Thursday, December 9th, 2021
More freedom in the App Store
Apple doesn’t have to change rules for now
The game company Epic failed with its lawsuit against Apple – but not across the board: app developers should be able to point out cheaper payment options outside the app store, according to the court. But now the loosening is on hold for the time being.
Apple managed at the last minute to postpone a court ruling to relax the app store rules. A US appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Apple’s objections raise serious questions and that the iPhone company could suffer significant damage if it failed. Therefore, it stopped implementing the changes that were due to come into force on Thursday for the duration of the procedure.
According to the decision of a California district judge, app developers in the USA should be given the right to use links or buttons to refer to payment options outside of Apple’s platform for their applications. The verdict came at the beginning of September in the process between Apple and Epic Games, the company that created the online game “Fortnite”. Apple argued that the change could harm consumers and the integrity of the app store platform.
Apple fears for security
The appeals court was bothered by the district judge’s finding that Apple’s business practices did not violate antitrust law, but a California law against unfair competition. Apple welcomed the delay. “We fear that the changes would have led to new data protection and security risks,” said a spokesman. In the process, Epic wanted to obtain the right to operate its own app store on the iPhone – and failed. But the district judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided at the same time that Apple can no longer prohibit developers from advising users of ways to buy the items cheaper outside of the app store.
Apple warned that some developers, from the company’s point of view, interpreted the judge’s decision too generously and wanted to pack entire alternative payment processes behind the links. As the company argues, this could allow malicious developers to misuse user data, while Apple could not prevent this. Apple basically allows the purchase of digital goods – such as virtual items in game apps – via its in-house payment platform. A fee of 15 or 30 percent is due to the group. Apple argues, among other things, that the process would protect users from attempted fraud and misuse of their data. Some app developers criticize that the levy is unjustifiably high.
The app store system from Apple and Android developer Google has recently attracted increasing attention from competition watchdogs and politicians. In some countries – including the EU – there are plans to make the iPhone platform accessible to other app stores. Apple warns of dangers for users through such a step.