Apple’s App Store Shake-Up: Strategic Rule Changes to Sidestep EU Penalties

Apple blinks first in its regulatory stare-down with Brussels. The tech giant just overhauled its App Store policies—not out of goodwill, but to avoid billion-dollar fines from EU watchdogs.

The compliance dance begins

New rules let developers bypass Apple’s notorious 30% "tax" for certain payment systems. Side-loading apps? Suddenly permissible. Alternative app stores? Welcome to the party—as long as they meet Apple’s freshly minted "security standards."

The fine print giveth and taketh away

Buried in the legalese: a "core technology fee" that may hit freemium apps hardest. Meanwhile, Apple’s stock barely twitched—because when you’re sitting on $200B in cash, regulatory fines are just a cost of doing business.

Wall Street’s take? A masterclass in regulatory arbitrage. The changes look dramatic but protect Apple’s golden goose: control over iOS monetization. The EU gets its headline win while Tim Cook’s money printer keeps humming.

Apple updates its App Store fees and rules to avoid large daily fines

In April, the EU antitrust regulators took legal measures against Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). They alleged that the iPhone Maker had set limitations for developers who were helping users find cheaper payment alternatives apart from the App Store. Apple was subjected to a 500 million euro fine worth $586.7 million.

After receiving the fine, the tech giant had 60 days to change its restrictions to abide by the DMA’s regulations. Notably, the DMA is a European Union regulation designed for Big Tech companies to ensure fairness and competition in the market.

According to the individuals who know the situation, the EU Commission will approve the changes in the next few weeks. However, this timing could change due to unavoidable circumstances.

The EU watchdog stated that all options are still available. This came after they mentioned that they are still evaluating Apple’s proposed changes.

As the iPhone maker made the changes to avoid large daily fines, it expressed disapproval of the EU regulators’ action of interfering with its App Store operations.

Concerning the daily fine, it could have been subjected to a 5% fine on its average daily revenue in its global operations. This is about 50 million euros in a day.

Apple disproves the EU Commission’s action against it 

On July 7, Apple took an initiative to go to Europe’s second-highest court after being fined, challenging the EU watchdog. The giant tech company vowed to pursue legal action against the regulators as it did not agree with the action they took against it.

In a statement, the iPhone maker stated that they had submitted their appeal, arguing that the decision the EU Commission arrived at and the fine they had set against it were more than what is stated in the law.

According to Apple, they made the changes only to prevent daily fines, and they will present the facts to the court. 

Otherwise, the regulator’s action pushes business rules that cause confusion among developers and greatly affect its clients, the company said. 

It further pointed out that their appeal demonstrated the regulator’s act of controlling its business operations.

While the situation becomes uncertain as days pass, people await the regulator’s decision to approve or request more adjustments.

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