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Europe’s Publishers Welcome European Commission Action Against Apple App Store for Breach of Digital Markets Act

Richard Powell  2 min read

The European Publishers Council (EPC) welcomes the European Commission’s action against Apple today for failing to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

In its news release, the Commission explains that:
“Under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases. The Commission found that Apple fails to comply with this obligation.”

EPC’s Executive Director Angela Mills Wade said:
“What’s important for us is not the fine but the changes that Apple will need to make within two months to comply with the DMA. Apple has long frustrated greater competition in app distribution and in payment solutions via a combination of friction and excessive fees. The European Commission has rightly used its new powers under the Digital Markets Act to challenge these anti-competitive behaviours that majorly impact publishers’ ability to deliver professional editorial media to Europe’s consumers.”

The Commission’s decision is a strong statement to Apple, to force the owner of the App Store to change its practices, making it clear this is just the beginning as they continue to look into Apple’s terms and fees, with more rulings and fines likely to follow.

Apple now has no other choice but to revise its non-compliant App Store terms within two months and remove the technical and commercial restrictions currently in place in the App Store to ensure that:

  • App developers, like publishers, can send their consumers offers from outside the Apple platform, e.g., from publisher websites, and allow consumers to download apps directly to their devices from the web.
  • This means that publishers can now offer their subscribers promotions and deals in their own apps, enabling them to build better customer relationships with their subscribers (currently prohibited by Apple).

The EC also deems Apple’s highly criticised fee structure—including a Core Technology Fee levied on their business users—unjustifiable, but more work is needed, including:

  • Publishers’ customers must be able to buy subscriptions via the App Store without publishers being subject to a disproportionate tax from Apple (currently 30%). The commission on subscriptions in the App and Play Stores should drop to 3–5%;
  • Publishers should be able to offer their customers using the App Store alternative payment systems (currently only Apple’s is available); and
  • Subscriber data from App Store purchased subscriptions must belong to the publisher. Currently, Apple refuses to share this with publishers, which means when consumers are on publishers’ websites, publishers have no way of knowing they have paid for a subscription on the App Store.

Angela continued:
“The DMA’s goal is clear: to promote fairness and contestability in digital markets by imposing certain obligations on tech giants, including Apple. Our ongoing asks are specific, straightforward and fair and we commend the European Commission for calling out behaviours that ultimately undermine the free press and curtail access to independent news and information.”

https://www.epceurope.eu
https://www.linkedin.com/company/epceurope/

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