Apple is offering to make a number of App Store rule concessions in a bid to settle a class-action lawsuit the company has been fighting for a couple of years.
The lawsuit was originally filed back in June 2019 by two developers claiming Apple had an “abusive monopoly” in the iOS App Store and in-app distribution service. The complaint states that Apple doesn’t allow any form of competition, charges a high commission on each app sale as well as charging developers for access to the store, and dictates price points.
As Axios reports, Apple has offered to make a number of changes, providing the court approves, in order to settle the lawsuit. The most headline-grabbing change is Apple allowing app developers to communicate directly with customers about alternative payment options outside of the App Store ecosystem.
On the face of it, that reads like a huge concession, but not really. Apple is allowing developers to contact customer outside of the app with their consent. It’s still forbidden to tell customers inside an app that other payment methods exists. Customers (rightly) also need to be given the ability to opt-out of such communication from developers.
Other concessions Apple proposes include increasing the number of price points available for apps from less than 100 to more than 500. The company promises to make sure App Store search results are “based on objective criteria” and that a three year program is being maintained to lower commissions to small businesses. A transparently report will also be produced including “data on the number of apps rejected and removed and customer and developer accounts deactivated.”
For the US specifically, a new $100 million fund is being created for small developers, which will offer between $250 and $30,000 to developers who generated less than $1 million during the last five years.
“From the beginning, the App Store has been an economic miracle; it is the safest and most trusted place for users to get apps, and an incredible business opportunity for developers to innovate, thrive, and grow,” said Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow who oversees the App Store. “We would like to thank the developers who worked with us to reach these agreements in support of the goals of the App Store and to the benefit of all of our users.”
It’s now up to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to assess whether this settlement offer is good enough to conclude the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Apple is still fighting Epic in a separate lawsuit, which happens to have the same federal judge.
