Thirteen parties, including music service Spotify, game developer Epic and representatives of news media, are fighting against Apple together. They accuse the company of unfair competition through the App Store, in which they are represented with their apps.
They have united in one Coalition for App Fairness, a new organization created to “advocate freedom of choice and fair competition between app ecosystems,” the site read.
Ten points
Ten points have been drawn up that should be improved. For example, the point is that a developer should not be forced to use the download store’s payment system to be active there, as is the case with Apple.
Another point is that a developer’s sales data should not be used to compete with it. The group also believes that a download store should not prevent a developer from offering its own App Store in the form of an app.
The coalition “will become the voice of app and game developers to protect consumer choice and create a fair playing field,” said Spotify’s legal chief Horacio Gutierrez. “Developers’ basic freedoms are under attack,” said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. “We participate to protect the fundamental rights of developers.”
Apple was not immediately available for a response. The company has launched a new page that emphasizes, among other things, that since the start of the App Store, 155 billion dollars has been paid out to developers.
Less attractive
The backlash against Apple is not new. For example, Spotify already filed a complaint against the iPhone maker with the European Commission last year. That led to an investigation this year. This summer, a legal battle broke out between Epic, the maker of the popular game Fortnite, and Apple.
Both players, who therefore also have a leading role in the establishment of the new coalition, is a thorn in the side of the commission that Apple charges for payments.
For Spotify, for example, Apple also offers its own music service and does not have to pay any commission for it. If Spotify wants to earn just as much from its music service, it must therefore increase the price, making the offer less attractive. Epic decided to bypass Apple’s payment system in its popular game Fortnite, after which Apple removed the app. The same thing happened in the Android download store.
Dutch media
Not only well-known app makers participate in the initiative, but also a large number of publishers. They are united in, among other things, the European Publishers Council. It also represents DPG Media and the Mediahuis, the two major Belgian publishers who jointly publish almost all Dutch newspapers.