Major U.S. Publishers Join Coalition for App Fairness

A group of major U.S. news publishers have joined the Coalition for App Fairness, a collaborative organization set up to highlight issues with Apple, mainly from developers (via TechCrunch).

coalition upscale feature

Digital Content Next, which represents the AP, The New York Times, NPR, ESPN, Vox, The Washington Post, Meredith, Bloomberg, NBCU, The Financial Times, and more, has become the 50th member to join the Coalition for App Fairness.

A number of other European media organizations have already joined the Coalition for App Fairness, including the European Publishers Council, News Media Europe, GESTE, and Schibsted. Digital Content Next is the first to represent the news and media industry in the United States, and accumulatively reaches an audience of over 233 million unique visitors and 100 percent of the U.S. online population.

The publishers believe that Apple "severely impacts" their subscription-based models by serving as an intermediary. In short, the argument postulates that Apple is wrong to force publishers to use in-app payments for subscription services, which, in turn, means that prices have to rise to account for Apple's commission.

"DCN is pleased to join the Coalition for App Fairness working to establish a fair and competitive digital landscape," Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint said in a statement. "The premium publisher members of DCN enjoy trusted, direct relationships with consumers, who don't expect intermediaries to impose arbitrary fees and rules which limit their ability to consume the news and entertainment they love."

Earlier this year, Digital Content Next criticized Apple's business practices when it halved its commission from 30 percent to 15 percent for video subscription apps. The organization alleges that Apple amended its App Store rules for Amazon specifically, in order to get Amazon's Prime Video app on iOS and tvOS. Publishers essentially wanted the same discounted fee for themselves but were unable to do so, despite the fact that Apple says its App Store rules are applied evenly.

Furthermore, Digital Content Next argues that Apple's fees and Safari's blocking of third-party cookies and tracking workarounds have pushed publishers away from direct audience revenue, such as subscriptions and events. It claims that Apple has instead pushed them toward digital ads where they had to pay a 30 percent commission on earnings.

Publishers have also expressed concerns about Apple News+ limiting revenue, affording "little in the way of direct relationships with readers," and giving "little control over the business," with some publications such as The New York Times, which is part of Digital Context Next, withdrawing from the service entirely.

"Having DCN join the Coalition for App Fairness is a landmark moment for our campaign, and their insight into core issues with the App Store that top outlets face will only make our voice stronger," said Sarah Maxwell, spokesperson for the Coalition for App Fairness, in a statement. "We're excited to work with them to advocate for App Store policies that are fair, hold Apple accountable, and give consumers freedom of choice."

The Coalition for App Fairness was founded by a large group of companies, such as Epic Games, Spotify, Tile, Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain, Deezer, Match, Prepear, ProtonMail, and SkyDemon, many of whom have had major disagreements with Apple over various issues.

The organization describes itself as "an independent nonprofit organization founded by industry-leading companies to advocate for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem." The coalition is based in Washington D.C. and Brussels, and aims to lead legal and regulatory changes with regards to what it says are three key issues; "anti-competitive policies," "30 percent app tax," and "no consumer freedom."

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...

Top Rated Comments

ossifer Avatar
62 months ago
Analogy: I am going to take my wares to my local Target. I demand: shelf space, security, monitoring, customer service, returns and check-out services all be provided free of charge by Target, and I refuse to give anything to Target.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deevey Avatar
62 months ago
Is it just me ? I honestly don't see the need for any app to read news.

Is there something wrong with their website ? What can their app do that a website cannot ?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Darth.Titan Avatar
62 months ago

Now watch how the regulators put the squeeze on Apple and Apple starts whining in turn. The customers will win though.
You're under the impression that the government is acting in the interest of the customer? That's cute. The government (Regardless of which country) only intercedes when there's something in it for them. They love to levy fines and accept money "to protect the customer."

Apple is unfortunately making too much money right now to be ignored. They've painted a big red target on their backs and every government in the world is doing everything they can to squeeze them for whatever they can.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CaTOAGU Avatar
62 months ago
"members of DCN enjoy trusted, direct relationships with consumers, who don't expect intermediaries to impose arbitrary fees and rules which limit their ability to consume the news and entertainment they love."

Hold on! First of all it's not a trusted relationship in the positive sense they're desperately trying to make it out to be. People don't want to give Epic, or any other publisher their contact details, usually they only do so because they're compelled to do so. These are the same people who historically have sold those user details to others. What they'd like to really get back to is the days of, "book of the month", where they sent you a book and it was on you to send it back if you didn't want to pay for it.

So yes, their relationship might have been direct but there's no way in hell it was ever trusted.

Whatever the outcome of this, no one should be under any illusion that this bunch have your best interests at heart. Because one things for sure, they'll pay lip service to competition but if any of them, could corner the market and get rid of their competitors, they'd do it in a heartbeat.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reyesmac Avatar
62 months ago
Apple users already are used to paying the Apple Tax. I don't feel sorry if companies have to do so as well. They can get a discount when the rest of us do.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ryanflanders256 Avatar
62 months ago
"Media conglomerates against media conglomeration" would be a great name for this coalition.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)