The European Union (EU) issued a warning about Apple's recent app download policy. Not only did it turn into possible to put in apps on the iPhone without going through the App Store, but it surely also hindered plans to not directly charge fees.

Reuters reported on the twenty seventh (local time) a warning from EU industry chief Thierry Bruton that Apple would face strong motion if it fails to satisfy the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations.

In line with him, Bruton said, “The EU will evaluate whether Apple's measures are sufficient through feedback from third parties,” and added, “If the proposed solution shouldn’t be sufficient, we is not going to hesitate to take strong measures.”

The EU's DMA, which takes effect from May 2, is a regulation aimed toward stopping market monopolies by Big Tech. Six corporations, including Apple, Microsoft (MS), Google, Meta, Amazon, and ByteDance, are defined as 'gatekeepers' and robust regulations are applied to stop monopolies.

Within the case of Apple, it includes the iOS operating system, the App Store, and the Safari browser, but in the longer term, a technique should be created to put in apps on iPhones, etc. without going through the App Store. If appropriate measures aren’t taken by March 6, fines of as much as 10% of worldwide sales could also be imposed, rising to twenty% for repeat violations.

For that reason, Apple announced on the twenty sixth that it might allow apps to be downloaded outside of the App Store for the primary time in history. Which means existing developers would not have to make use of Apple's in-app payment system and can now not must pay the 30% fee in the longer term.

Nevertheless, Apple still requires apps to be submitted, citing cybersecurity risks, review for fraud, and technical compatibility, and firms with greater than 1 million annual installs within the EU, even in the event that they don’t use any payment services, shall be charged 50 euro cents per yr for every additional user account (even in the event that they don’t use any payment services). It was revealed that a fee of roughly 725 won would must be paid.

Developers strongly opposed this. Spotify, which has hundreds of thousands of free users, urged regulators not to simply accept it. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite developer Epic Games, called Apple's plan “rubbish.”

In this case, EU head Bruton has confirmed that Apple's measures are insufficient, so attention is paid to Apple's future response.

Regarding this, the Wall Street Journal said, “Cracks are appearing within the walled garden that has surrounded Apple for a long time,” adding, “Apple's closed policies have irritated regulators, driven away partners, and allowed competitors to catch up.” ” he criticized.

Reporter Lim Da-jun ydj@aitimes.com