Developers to be Charged Fee for Reviewing Apps
Apple is facing a lot of pressure from the European Union over its business practices, and the company is ready to comply. However, Apple is now exploring various ways in which the new EU rules will not affect its overall market situation.
According to new reports, Apple is ready to allow third-party apps to run on iOS as required by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), but with a special review process that looks for potential concerns related to apps people download. on their iPhones, as The Wall Street Journal highlighted this week.
Checking for apps installed outside of the main app store is a common strategy that even Google has recently adopted to combat sideloading concerns. But what’s certain is that Apple’s review process for these apps is likely to be stricter, which could run afoul of these laws.
But that’s not all, Apple realizes that sideloading can have a big impact on its app store revenue, so the report mentions that the company will charge app developers who offer their apps from these third-party app stores. Apple’s app store fees are one of the many reasons why the EU has decided to crack down on this alleged anti-competitive behavior.
And if the company charges for third-party app downloads, developers will again question the logic of this decision if Apple can override the restrictions and set new rules for its ecosystem.
The changes are justified, not only in Europe, but also in other markets, and Apple’s dominance in some countries allows the company to set its own terms and forces developers and platforms to follow or otherwise face action for violating its policies. If these new terms come into force, EU regulators may have to call Tim Cook and Co and tell them to relax such norms.
