Apple has finally caved to the Digital Markets Act, or DMA, and expects to bring some changes to the App Store policies to comply with the EU’s new ruling. Evidence that the company has decided to alter its platform regulations comes in the form of a 10-K financial form, with details present under the ‘Business Risks’ section. This effectively means that the App Store might finally be open to third-party platforms and the possibility of iMessage being interoperable with other messaging services, along with other changes.
Apple warns that these changes could ‘materially adversely’ its business if changes are to be implemented, suggesting a decline in revenue directly from the App Store
The implementations detailed by the Digital Markets Act need to come into effect on Apple’s App Store by March 2024, and the platform could also allow sideloading apps after this time. According to the financial filings spotted by TechCrunch, these future changes could affect how the company charges developers when accessing the company’s platforms, managing the distribution of apps outside of the App Store, and to what extent it will allow developers with consumers inside the App Store regarding alternative purchasing methods.
These changes may also affect the fee Apple charges developers to distribute apps in the App Store under its Apple Developer Program, which is currently $99 annually. Additionally, the changes introduced by the EU’s DMA could ‘materially adversely’ affect its business, possibly resulting in lower sales going directly through the App Store. The form also mentions that continuous investigations from antitrust watchdogs in Europe and other regions over the App Store will subject the company to significant fines, possibly pushing it into a deeper abyss with stricter regulations being enforced in the future.
A few hours ago, we reported that Google and other telecom firms sent a letter to the EU, stating that iMessage complies with the DMA and that Apple could make it cross-compatible with other apps such as Google Messages, WhatsApp, and others. We will continue to monitor what changes need to be introduced, but Apple still has until March of next year to implement these.
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