South Korea has become the first country to pass a bill that would end Apple and Google’s controls on payments on their App Stores. The South Korean National Assembly (Parliament) has passed a bill that will force Google and Apple to open their app stores to alternative payment options in South Korea. It threatens to end the tech giant’s dominance of how developers sell digital goods within their apps on their stores. The bill is the first of its kind in the world and amends South Korea’s Telecommunications Trade Act to prevent large app market operators from requiring the use of their in-app purchase systems.
If Apple and Google fail to comply with this rule, they will be fined 3 percent of their total revenue in South Korea by the South Korean Communications Commission – the country’s media regulator. This comes as a welcome move from lawmakers in the country as there is growing global scrutiny against Google and Apple over “unfair” commission on in-app purchases made on any app downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store. Is. Both tech giants charge developers up to a 30 percent commission when users make in-app purchases within apps downloaded through the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Developers around the world have raised concerns about the in-app payment system, protesting against the High Commissions. Developers have demanded that they be able to use other systems independently.
The new bill passed in South Korea is expected to give developers the option to use any payment method for in-app purchases. The law in South Korea is a result of Google’s announcement last year that it would implement the billing system on all developers on the Play Store from October this year.
A similar bill has been introduced in the US, which seeks to limit Apple and Google’s control over apps on the app markets. Both tech giants are currently locked in a legal dispute against Fortnite make Epic Games over the same issue, after Google and Apple booted Fortnite from their respective stores, as Epic gave users an alternative payment option. In addition, in July, approximately 36 US states filed a lawsuit against Google alleging anti-competitive behavior to collect and maintain commissions in the operation of the Play Store.
A report by South Korean agency Yonhap said the bill passed despite several attempts by Apple and Google to appease developers. Last week, Apple reached a class action settlement with developers in the US that have accused it of dominating app content distribution. Under the agreement, Apple said it would allow developers to share information about payment methods outside the app with its users — a move that the iPhone maker previously limited.
Amid the outrage, Apple has cut in half its 30 percent commission for app developers who earn up to $1 million a year earlier this year. Google has taken similar measures, reducing its commissions to 15 percent for the first $1 million in revenue earned by developers since July.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.