Apple may avoid punitive daily fines for breaching the European Union’s (EU) Digital Markets Act as the bloc is set to approve the App Store changes.
Reuters learned today that the European Commission will approve the recent changes Apple made to the App Store rules in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s regulation that aims to make the digital economy fairer.
“The European Commission is expected to approve the changes in the coming weeks, although the timing could still change,” the news gathering organization has learned from people who have direct knowledge of the matter.
Report: EU to approve App Store changes
“All options remain on the table. We are still assessing Apple’s proposed changes,” said the EU watchdog on Tuesday. If the changes are approved, the Cupertino company might be able to dodge punitive daily fines for non-compliance that could climb to up to five percent of its average daily worldwide revenue, which works out to about 50 million euros per day, or nearly $59 million in US dollars.
Apple didn’t make these changes on its own. It was only after being hit with a half-billion euro fine (about $587 million) for preventing developers from steering users to more affordable subscriptions on the web that Apple responded with changes.
There’s now a simpler process to download third-party marketplaces and third-party apps outside the App Store that involves fewer scare screens. Other changes to the App Store in the EU include the removal of the controversial anti-steering rule, so now developers can freely tell users about cheaper external subscription options and provide in-app links and buttons to take them there.
App Store changes
Developers are now allowed to promote those cheaper options using any communications channels available, including external websites, other apps, alternative app marketplaces, blogs, email blasts and similar.
Developers can also use multiple external links (with tracking parameters) in their apps (versus one, like before). To reflect these changes, the company has revised the App Store business terms and fee structure.
As part of the changes, Apple now permits developers in the EU to implement cellular phone calls and SMS/MMS/RCS messaging in their apps. The company may also permit EU iPhone owners to replace Siri with another default digital assistant.
Apple often criticizes the European Commission over overreaching requirements that enforce unreasonable concessions, saying the Commission wants to micromanage how Apple runs the App Store. For example, Apple has appealed the €500 million fine, saying the Commission’s rulings “go far beyond what the law requires.”