South Korea¡¯s parliament approved a bill that bans major app store operators like Google and Apple from forcing app developers to use their payment systems, thus no longer forcing devs to pay commission to these app stores.?
Reported first by Reuters, this curb is first of its kind by a major economy on major app stores managed by Google and of course, Apple, who has constantly faced scrutiny for charging 30 percent of commission from app purchases.
The final vote for the bill was 180 in favour of the 188 attending to pass the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act that has also gained the moniker of ¡®Anti-Google law.¡¯
Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters about the approval of the bill stating, "We'll reflect on how to comply with this law while maintaining a model that supports a high-quality operating system and app store, and we will share more in the coming weeks.¡±
The spokesperson further added, ¡°It's a model that keeps device costs low for consumers and enables both platforms and developers to succeed financially. And just as it costs developers money to build an app, it costs us money to build and maintain an operating system and app store.¡±
Apple also responded in a statement ¡°We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal - leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW 8.55 trillion to date with Apple.¡±?
According to South Korean parliamentary records, the amendment intends to ban app store operators who have a dominant market position to force payment systems on content providers and inappropriately delay the review or deleting app content from the app stores.?
Last week, Apple also announced that it would loosen App Store restrictions on small developers and let them promote payment gateways other than Apple¡¯s payment system.?
India too experienced the power of Google Play Store and its fee when last year it decided to force Indian startups to route all the payments made on the app through Google Play and pay 30 percent commission for payments made on the app.?
A coalition of 56 Indian startups raised their voice and brought MeitY¡¯s attention to this and soon after, Google deferred its decision. Later, in March this year, Google announced that it would charge a fixed commission rate of 15 percent for users with less than $1 million of revenue.?
Apple, right after Google¡¯s kerfuffle last year, quietly announced that it would be charging only 15 percent commission for devs who generate up to $1 million in revenue per calendar year. However, companies with more revenue continue paying the 30 percent cut.?
As of now, there is no legislation in place for the Indian government to roll out a bill similar to that of South Korea, however, going forward with the advancement the Indian tech scene is experiencing, we might need it soon.?
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