Several news publishers have asked Apple to take a lower commission rate on its App Store.
As reported by Reuters, the tech giant will take between 15 per cent and 30 per cent from news apps for first time subscriptions. However, Apple came to an agreement with Amazon that the retail giant would take a larger cut.
As a result, multiple news outlets have questioned Apple about what qualifies Amazon for such a deal. In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Digital Content Next (DCN) CEO Jason Kint asked for clear conditions. DCN represents news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, New York Times, and others.
“I ask that you clearly define the conditions that Amazon satisfied for its arrangement so that DCN’s member companies meeting those conditions can be offered the same agreement. I look forward to discussing this with you,” said Kint.
Apple woes
It’s not just news publishers that Apple is currently having trouble with. Due to its commission policies, Epic Games created a new payment option for Fortnite players on the App Store, a move that prevented Apple from taking its 30 per slice. As such the iOS creator removed the battle royale from its storefront, which has resulted in the games company filing a lawsuit.
Furthermore, Apple came under fire last month due to its commission rates, with multiple companies complaining that they were getting different rates to others. The company has since commissioned a report to demonstrate that its rates are on par with its competitors, such as Samsung and Google.
