Apple is engaged in eleventh-hour negotiations with European Union regulators in an effort to delay or avoid a new wave of financial penalties stemming from noncompliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Financial Times reports.
The company is under pressure to make significant changes to its App Store policies in the European Union after being fined €500 million earlier this year for preventing developers from directing users to alternative purchasing options outside of Apple's in-app payment system. That practice, referred to by regulators as "anti-steering," is explicitly prohibited under the DMA, which came into effect for designated gatekeepers, including Apple, in March 2024.
People involved in the discussions told the Financial Times that Apple is preparing to offer new concessions ahead of a Thursday, June 26 deadline, after which the European Commission is empowered to impose escalating daily fines of up to 5% of Apple's average global turnover. Based on Apple's 2023 revenue of $383 billion, such fines could amount to more than $50 million per day.
Apple's expected concessions will primarily relate to its steering rules, which have previously required developers to use Apple's payment infrastructure and prohibited them from linking users to external purchasing platforms. The upcoming proposals may ease those restrictions.
Apple introduced a new framework for alternative app marketplaces in the EU in iOS 17.4, which went into effect in March. The update allows developers to distribute apps through third-party app stores and to use alternative payment methods within their own apps.
However, some major developers and the European Commission itself argue that the changes do not go far enough to satisfy the requirements of the DMA. In particular, attention has focused on the Core Technology Fee (CTF), a charge of €0.50 per annual install on apps distributed outside the App Store after the first one million downloads. Sources cited by the Financial Times said the Core Technology Fee has also been part of the recent discussions between Apple and the European Commission.
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