Apple revises fee and link policies following EU DMA investigation
Apple has updated its terms and policies for app developers in the European Union, ostensibly to better comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The new compliance plan allows developers to link to external payment systems or promote other platforms – but the new terms also include new fees that allow Apple to take a cut of every purchase. The company recently settled its antitrust dispute with the EU and agreed to open its Apple Pay platform to external payment options.
The new rules, which can be viewed on Apple’s developer support website, list all the different percentages Apple will take from every purchase, regardless of where it is made. The fee structure is different for those who sign up under Apple’s new terms and those who are under the existing terms.
For developers who sign up to the new terms, Apple will charge an initial 5% acquisition fee on all sales of digital goods and services made within 12 months of the first app install, and a 10% store service fee on all sales made within 12 months of any install (including new installs).
Developers already subject to Apple’s existing terms face even higher fines for adding external links: 20% for a period of 12 months after installation (but this drops to 7% for App Store Small Business Program participants).
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These new policies have already drawn criticism from some of the companies behind the App Store’s most popular apps. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said on X: “Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users who switch to competing stores and by policing commerce on those competing stores.”
Spotify said in a statement to TechCrunch: “On its face, Apple once again blatantly disregards the basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by charging a fee of up to 25% for basic communications with users. The European Commission has made it clear that charging recurring fees for basic elements such as pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to speed up its investigation, impose daily fines and enforce the DMA.”
