Apple's Latest App Store Changes Satisfy EU, No More Fines Coming

The European Union is set to accept the June updates that Apple made to its App Store to comply with the Digital Markets Act, reports Reuters. As a result, Apple will not face daily fines for non-compliance.

Apple changed its ‌App Store‌ fee setup and removed its anti-steering rules to meet the demands of the European Commission. Developers can now direct customers to purchase options outside the ‌App Store‌ and even accept payments for digital goods in their apps using third-party payment options.

At the European Commission's direction Apple has split its ‌App Store‌ services options to let developers opt out of certain features for a lower fee. There are now two tiers that developers can pay for. The cheaper one eliminates ratings and reviews, ‌App Store‌ featuring and marketing, search suggestions, automatic app updates, and automatic app downloads across devices. The more expensive tier includes all current ‌App Store‌ features and functionality.

Tier 1 store services cost five percent of an app's revenue, and Tier 2 store services cost 13 percent (10 percent for Small Business Program participants). Apple also charges a two percent initial acquisition fee and a five percent Core Technology Commission (CTC). The CTC replaces the CTF, a controversial fee that charged developers €0.50 per app install after one million installs per year.

Right now, there's a split CTC and CTF system for developers who use external links and those who don't, but by January 1, 2026, Apple will have a single business model that includes the services fee, the initial acquisition fee, and the CTC. At maximum, developers will pay 20 percent, and per-install billing won't exist. Developers who choose limited ‌App Store‌ functionality will pay a 12 percent maximum fee. Small Business Program participants will pay between 10 and 15 percent.

If Apple had not changed its ‌App Store‌ fee structure and linking rules, it could have been fined up to five percent of its average daily worldwide revenue (about €50 million) each day. The European Commission is expected to accept the ‌App Store‌ updates "in the coming weeks," but timing could change.

Apple was already fined €500 million for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act, but the company has filed an appeal. Apple is protesting both the fine and the new anti-steering rules that the European Commission required.

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