Proposed EU rules could require Apple to explain App Store rankings, defend take from subs...
The European Union on Thursday proposed a new set of laws governing platform holders like Apple, Amazon, and Google, intended to improve transparency and non-discrimination in relation to the smaller businesses that depend on them.
The rules could require Apple to provide more details on how it ranks items on the App Store, and why it removes some apps, according to Reuters. Businesses would also have the right to launch collective lawsuits if they feel transparency or non-discrimination rules have been violated. Companies like Apple would be obligated to appoint mediators to handle complaints, and take on at least half of related expenses.
The terms and conditions documents platforms publish would have to explain any preferential treatment given to first-party services over others. That might be particularly relevant in the case of Apple, which typically claims a 30 percent cut from in-app transactions but gets to keep all of the revenue from services like Apple Music.
Spotify has been particularly vocal about this discrepancy, complaining to the E.U. alongside several other companies that Apple Music has an inherent advantage over rival streaming services. Until recently Spotify was charging more for Premium subscriptions through the App Store to compensate for Apple's cut -- to avoid confusion and complaints, it eventually removed in-app upgrades entirely, prompting people to sign up elsewhere.
Digital Music Europe -- an organization representing firms like Spotify, Deezer, and Soundcloud -- is pushing for a stronger anti-discrimination focus by the E.U.
"In order to be effective, the regulation must also address the discriminatory practices that arise when a platform provider is also the direct competitor with those third parties," said DME president Hans-Holger Albrecht.
The CCIA, a group representing companies like Amazon and Google, insisted that platform holders are already on the right track and that it's in their interest to maintain good relationships with client businesses.
"There is no evidence of a systemic problem that would justify regulation through the strongest legislative instrument available to the E.U.," the CCIA's Jakob Kucharczyk argued. "A more flexible approach, rather than an outsized, one-size-fits-all Regulation, would be more conducive to the growth of Europe's digital economy."
The proposed laws must still be approved by the European Parliament and member states, so there's no certainty any of them will take effect.
The rules could require Apple to provide more details on how it ranks items on the App Store, and why it removes some apps, according to Reuters. Businesses would also have the right to launch collective lawsuits if they feel transparency or non-discrimination rules have been violated. Companies like Apple would be obligated to appoint mediators to handle complaints, and take on at least half of related expenses.
The terms and conditions documents platforms publish would have to explain any preferential treatment given to first-party services over others. That might be particularly relevant in the case of Apple, which typically claims a 30 percent cut from in-app transactions but gets to keep all of the revenue from services like Apple Music.
Spotify has been particularly vocal about this discrepancy, complaining to the E.U. alongside several other companies that Apple Music has an inherent advantage over rival streaming services. Until recently Spotify was charging more for Premium subscriptions through the App Store to compensate for Apple's cut -- to avoid confusion and complaints, it eventually removed in-app upgrades entirely, prompting people to sign up elsewhere.
Digital Music Europe -- an organization representing firms like Spotify, Deezer, and Soundcloud -- is pushing for a stronger anti-discrimination focus by the E.U.
"In order to be effective, the regulation must also address the discriminatory practices that arise when a platform provider is also the direct competitor with those third parties," said DME president Hans-Holger Albrecht.
The CCIA, a group representing companies like Amazon and Google, insisted that platform holders are already on the right track and that it's in their interest to maintain good relationships with client businesses.
"There is no evidence of a systemic problem that would justify regulation through the strongest legislative instrument available to the E.U.," the CCIA's Jakob Kucharczyk argued. "A more flexible approach, rather than an outsized, one-size-fits-all Regulation, would be more conducive to the growth of Europe's digital economy."
The proposed laws must still be approved by the European Parliament and member states, so there's no certainty any of them will take effect.
Comments
Oh wait, then you wouldn't have nearly as many subscribers, since it's a PITA to leave an App, go to a website, create an account and enter your credentials/payment information. As opposed to the sheer ease-of-use that comes with signing up in-App.
Edited: I'd like to see this go to court and for Spotify to have to reveal numbers showing how many people sign up via the App and via their website. Especially at the beginning. I expect Spotify owes a lot of their subscriber base to iOS users who signed up in-App. Now that they have their subscriber base, they want to change the rules.
Another way of saying this is that Apple Music remits 100% of it’s revenues to Apple, whereas Spotify remits only 30%, and only for subs signed up through the App Store/in-app purchases. Seems Spotify has the better deal.
And oh by the way, did you read the very first paragraph of this AI article? Yes these potential rules from the EU affects Google too. And Amazon
I rather think he doesn't.
Politics are a big part of your life apparently. Personally I tired of attempts to manipulate me by both friends and foes quite a few years back. Friends can be the sneakier of the two, you expect it from an enemy. Coming from like-minded folks it takes longer to realize you're being fed crap rather than foie gras...
That they’re not of yours–and everyone else’s–is why we’re in this fucking mess.
The first and fiercest punishment ought to fall first on the traitor, second on the enemy. If I had but one bullet and I were faced by both an enemy and a traitor, I would let the traitor have it. – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu