Spotify and Epic Games are among Apple critics unhappy with the iPhone maker's revised plan to newly comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the revised plan on Tuesday, which includes looser restrictions and two additional fees, Spotify released a statement to TechCrunch calling the plan “unacceptable” and claiming that Apple is again ignoring the “fundamental requirements” of the DMA. Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the revisions another case of “bad compliance” with “junk fees.”
In the European Union, where new DMA laws have opened up app store competition, Apple continues its bad compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users who switch to competing stores and by policing commerce in those stores. https://t.co/YUYwsnrh32 pic.twitter.com/xAWGkOWPrH
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 8, 2024
The European Commission had already determined that Apple's first attempt to comply with the DMA had failed, and was investigating Apple's proposed new fee structure under the DMA rules, which included a new core technology fee for the privilege of using Apple technology to build mobile apps.
With Apple's new policy proposed today, developers who want to link to their websites from within their iOS apps no longer have to accept Apple's DMA rules to do so. However, even if they no longer have to pay the core technology fees that come with Apple's new DMA rules, developers still have to pay fees to Apple. Instead, Apple has added two new fees: an “initial acquisition fee” and a “store service fee.” The former is a type of fee for connecting users to your app through the App Store that applies during the first 12 months, while the latter is used to fund Apple's App Store operations. The fees are charged at a fixed rate every 12 months, so they apply to users who continually purchase digital goods and services through your app.
Both fees also apply to developers who agree to Apple's new DMA terms, which add the new fees on top of the core technology fees for app installs.
The change is confusing, and Spotify said in a statement that even the company isn't quite sure how to respond.
But the company still condemns the revisions, based on its current understanding of how the new policy works.
“We are currently evaluating Apple's intentionally confusing proposal,” the company's statement read. “On its face, by demanding a fee of as much as 25% for basic communications with users, Apple is once again blatantly ignoring the basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission has made it clear that imposing ongoing fees on basic elements such as pricing and links is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, impose daily fines, and enforce the DMA.”
Fortnite maker Epic Games, an Apple critic who has sued the App Store for antitrust violations, also argued that the new changes are illegal.
“In the European Union, where new DMA laws have opened up app store competition, Apple continues its egregious compliance by charging illegal 15% junk fees to users who switch to competing stores and by policing commerce in those stores,” CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on X.
It remains to be seen whether the EU will accept Apple's proposed changes.