Apple has responded to complaints that it abuses its dominant position in the iPhone app market by making four promises to third-party developers about fairer treatment.
Developers and others are being asked for their comments on the proposals, and the UK’s antitrust regulator says it will be closely measuring the effectiveness of the measures …
Apple has long been accused by competition regulators around the world of abusing its market dominance in two ways. First, by effectively holding a monopoly on the sale of iPhone apps, since these could only be purchased via the company’s own App Store. Second, by giving preferential treatment to its own apps over competing alternatives.
The promises announced today by both Apple and Google address the second of these two issues. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now seeking views as to whether these promises go far enough.
They are:
- App review: Making sure Apple and Google review apps to be distributed on their app stores in a fair, objective and transparent way and do not discriminate against apps which compete with their own, or give preferential treatment to their own apps.
- App ranking: Making sure Apple and Google rank apps in their app stores in a fair, objective and transparent way and do not discriminate against apps which compete with their own, or give preferential treatment to their own apps.
- Data collection: Making sure Apple and Google safeguard the app data they gather from developers in the course of app review and do not use this data unfairly.
- Interoperability: Enabling developers to more easily request interoperable access to features and functionality within Apple’s mobile operating systems, giving businesses more certainty over how they can deliver innovative products and services to UK consumers. Apple has committed to considering requests fairly and objectively.
The CMA says it will be closely monitoring the effectiveness of these new policies. For example, it will be logging the number of interoperability requests received by Apple and the outcomes of each.
Apple told Bloomberg that the changes provide great opportunities for developers.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The deadline for comments is March 3, and Apple must implement the new measures by April 1.
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