Apple’s Big Baby Moments

Regulation Puts Apple’s True Colors on Display

It’s weird to see companies having public temper tantrums. The year is not even two months old and Apple has been on a tear with taking its ball and going home.

First it was Apple’s legal loss resulting in it being forced to allow outside payments from the App Store. On the surface this ruling looks like a big win for the likes of Spotify, Netflix, and any other company that doesn’t want to pay a 30% cut to Apple for all purchases. Fair enough.

But Apple, always one to want total control, is going the Full-Greed route wherein it will charge a 27% comission on outside purchases. Companies must keep records of purchases outside the App Store and submit to audits by Apple. This, combined with the standard 3% credit card processing fees (sometimes higher) means companies using outside payments will… you guessed it, still pay 30%. Ben Lovejoy at 9to5Mac has a great roundup of this saga.

Next up is the Digital Markets Act (DMA) ruling in the EU. This was a legal case that has deemed it illegal to not allow competing app stores on a device. So Apple, now forced to allow other app stores on its platform, has gone ahead and charges a slightly-less-than-the-US rate of 17% comission. Then they’re lobbing on a “Core Technology Fee” of about 54-cents per app…