Apple is relaxing its payment rules in the app store for companies like Netflix.
From the beginning of 2022, such companies will be able to provide their users with a link that they can then use to set up a payment customer account outside of the app store, the technology group announced on.
This has not yet been possible, which is why companies always pay a commission of up to 30 percent of the sales generated to Apple when they use the app store. For the iPhone manufacturer, this is the second concession to antitrust authorities and companies in less than a week after the announcement that it would give smaller app developers more freedom. The changes are made after several years of investigations by the Japanese competition authorities.
Apple's services with music, TV and cloud offerings has grown to the second largest division of the group with annual sales of almost 54 billion dollars;
and the heart of it is the App Store.
However, the payment practices of Apple and the other dominant mobile phone operating system provider Google and their dealings with companies and app developers are now in the sights of authorities around the world.
In South Korea, the parliament passed a law change this week so that app developers can also use other payment systems.
In the meantime, Apple is also watching the cartel office in Germany.
In the United States, there is a lawsuit between Apple and the "Fortnite" maker Epic Games because of the app fees that app developers around the world are fighting against.
Spotify has already submitted a corresponding complaint to the EU Commission. The Swedish music streaming service announced that the recent relaxation of the payment rules does not solve all problems. The latest changes do not apply to game providers.