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Apple Denies Abusing French Developers, Says They've Earned 1 Billion Euros From App Store

Thursday March 15, 2018 9:34 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has issued a statement defending against allegations made by France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire, who earlier this week accused the iPhone maker of treating French startups and developers unfairly.


In the statement, loosely translated from French to English, Apple said it has "strong relationships" with French developers, and added that they have collectively earned one billion euros in revenue from the App Store.

Le Figaro via MacGeneration:
We are proud to have strong relationships with tens of thousands of developers across France, who have earned 1 billion euros on the App Store. Many of these talented developers founded their companies with one or two people and then saw their teams grow to offer their applications to users in 155 countries. This was only possible thanks to Apple's investment in iOS, development tools, and the App Store.

Apple has always defended the confidentiality and security of users and does not have access to user transactions with third-party applications. We are fully prepared to share our history in the French courts and to clarify this misunderstanding. In the meantime, we will continue to help French developers realize their dreams and support French students in their learning of the code through our coding program.
Le Maire said France will be taking Apple and Google to court in Paris for "abusive trade practices." In a radio interview, he mentioned that Apple and Google "take all their data" and "can unilaterally rewrite their contracts."
"I learned that when developers develop their applications, and sell to Google and Apple, their prices are imposed, Google and Apple take all their data, Google and Apple can unilaterally rewrite their contracts," Le Maire said in an interview with RTL radio. "All that is unacceptable and it’s not the economy that we want. They can’t treat our startups and developers the way they do."

"I will therefore be taking Google and Apple to the Paris commercial court for abusive trade practices," Le Maire said.
It's not very clear what Le Maire is referring to exactly. It's possible the bit about prices being "imposed" refers to the 30 percent cut that Apple and Google collect from sales of apps and in-app purchases, but his comments were vague.

Tags: App Store, France
[ 99 comments ]


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Moakesy
13 weeks ago
This from the country that fined a baker 3,000 euros because he opened 7 days a week during peak visitor season. His was the only place in the village where you could buy freshly baked bread, so he opened every day to both provide a much needed service and make the most of peak season. He is now fighting the fine.

I really don't understand the overly protective nature of French employment law. Whilst it's a great country that really values regional specialities, sometimes it feels a little bit too keen to shoot itself in the foot!!

Nobody forces anyone to put apps on the App Store. They know the deal they are getting in to.
Rating: 18 Votes
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ticlortic
13 weeks ago
If you don't like the deal offered, don't write the app. If you don't want to pay Amazon 30% don't post items to sell on Amazon. Pure and simple French government pandering to people who expect Apple/Google/Whoever to provide them with a platform to sell their products for free. Maybe the French developers will get a better deal from Huawei. Silliness, but the French attorney community will be smiling:)
Rating: 16 Votes
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asdavis10
13 weeks ago
If this is in relation to Apple's 30% cut, Apple does not have a monopoly on phones/tablets, apps, or app stores. Developers have choice.
Rating: 15 Votes
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justperry
13 weeks ago
Mentioning an amount (1Billion €) means totally NOTHING.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Glideslope
13 weeks ago
Just a continuation of EU money grabs as total revenue for the Nation States falls. ;)
Rating: 5 Votes
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DanielDD
13 weeks ago

If this is in relation to Apple's 30% cut, Apple does not have a monopoly on phones/tablets, apps, or app stores. Developers have choice.


Even if they didn't have a choice, the 30% cut is there for a reason. Apple provides developers with a downloading platform and infrastructure, and syncing capabilities with iCloud API's if they so desire.
Most small developers wouldn't even be able to cover the costs associated with downloading and syncing services.
Rating: 5 Votes
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RickInHouston
13 weeks ago
So the developers earned 1 Billion Euros. How much, apple, did you receive for their development of your platform?
Rating: 5 Votes
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Kaledatheone
13 weeks ago

Mentioning an amount (1Billion €) means totally NOTHING.


All developers are treated same way in NA so why are the French so pissy!
Rating: 4 Votes
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Saipher
13 weeks ago
Bruno Le Maire est un imbécile
Rating: 4 Votes
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lederermc
13 weeks ago

EUSSR - nuff said

And my family lives in it. Not France though.

Paying 55% income tax on all you earn PLUS mandatory health care - for the same amount we could have a very nice private plan with WAY better coverage - PLUS 20% VAT on - almost - all purchases PLUS inflated energy costs PLUS inflated municipal taxes PLUS you have to pay for private schools unless you want your kid to not learn his/her own language properly in school ...

I guess you family can emigrate to a country that doesn't have any of those amenities.
Rating: 4 Votes

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