Apple set up alternative app stores and external payments in Japan similar to how it is being handled in the EU, but developers say it has "no economic incentive" and want to pay nothing to Apple.
An ongoing snafu between Apple, Epic, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has led to an injunction forcing Apple to allow external payments without collecting a commission. While that is being appealed in the US, developers in Japan want similar treatment.
According to a report from The Japan News, seven IT-related industry groups comprising over 600 companies released a statement asking Apple and Google to eliminate new commissions. They mean the ones for alternative app marketplaces and externally linked purchases that were forced into place by the Mobile Software Competition Law (MSCL).
Instead of the usual 30% or 15% commission rates that Apple charges for using in-app purchases in the App Store, developers in Japan could choose to pay various fees between 5% and 21% based on the services they chose to use or not. When paired with credit card processing fees, the result was a more convoluted system that could end up as expensive, or more so, than Apple's built-in system.
Developers in the EU have similar complaints.
Apple isn't going to change its tune
Apple says that this is the cost of doing business and the result of avoiding the App Store that they've built to streamline sales. The company believes they are owed something from every developer that distributes apps in its ecosystem, whether it's using the App Store or payment processor, or not.
App Store commissions are a tiny part of Apple's business that it fights ruthlessly for
Every time Apple's commission has been challenged in court, there has been near universal agreement that Apple deserves to charge for access to its ecosystem. However, how much to charge and how to collect it has proven to be quite the debate.
The developers making the complaint in Japan would like to pay nothing and cite the injunction in the United States as the reasoning behind it. They claim that US developers are getting an unfair advantage when compared to Japanese developers.
While that's technically true for now, that injunction will likely be reversed at some point, and we'll be back to square one. Ultimately, all of this negative attention and constant regulation is a result of Apple's inflexibility to move from an antiquated commission system that is unfair to some participants.
If this constant back and forth is ever going to end, Apple needs to step away from all the noise and develop a solution separate from regulators. Create something that acknowledges it deserves a commission, make it simple, and give developers the ability to compete on merit.
If Apple's App Store and payment system are truly superior and better for users, let that speak for itself. Let's end this convoluted, aggressive compliance and get back to getting customers software safely and economically.
