Apple and Google have been asked to provide compliance plans for a newly amended law in South Korea that bars both tech giants from forcing developers to using their in-app purchase payment system for their respective app distribution platforms, Reuters reports.
In August, South Korea passed an amendment to an existing law that bans Apple and Google from mandating developers to use their own proprietary in-app purchasing system. Apple's in-app purchasing system gives the company a 15 to 30% commission for all purchases made and has been a hot topic for Apple and the discussion around the App Store for some time. Under the new law in South Korea, which is yet to go into effect, Apple and Google will be required to allow developers to use third-party payment methods within their app.
Apple has in recent weeks made some concessions to its App Store policy, most notably pivoting to allow developers to add links in their apps to external websites where purchases can be made. Those concessions come short of the mandate created by South Korea, which permits developers to add third-party payment methods directly within their app.
Apple has continued to call its in-app purchasing system the most trusted and safest way for customers to make purchases. Still, in light of recent decisions in its lawsuit against Epic Games, the Cupertino tech giant is being forced to rethink its model.
Apple operates the App Store under a single set of policies worldwide, and while the law passed in South Korea pertains to South Korean users, it will undoubtedly play a domino effect across the globe. With the mid-October deadline now set in South Korea for Apple and Google, we'll likely see how this decision could have repercussions around the world for Apple users soon.
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