In a huge concession, Apple has said it will soon allow ‘reader’ apps to create in-app links to their own websites, which will allow other big media companies to avoid Apple’s subscription cut.
This means the likes of Spotify and Netflix will be allow to avoid restrictions they have claimed were anticompetitive. The decision marks a key moment in this ongoing antitrust fight, and will be a game changer for developers hit with the restrictive 30 per cent cut that Apple, and Google, takes from all in-app payments and subscriptions.
Apple says the change was prompted by an investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission, and will go into effect early next year.
“Because developers of reader apps do not offer in-app digital goods and services for purchase, Apple agreed with the JFTC to let developers of these apps share a single link to their website to help users set up and manage their account,” Apple said in a statement posted on its website.
The JTFC said this “would eliminate the suspected violation of the Antimonopoly Act”, an it would end its investigation once Apple puts the changes into place.
