Chinese regulators consider the possibility of antitrust verification regarding Apple associated with the App Store policy and commission fees. According to Bloomberg, the State Directorate of Market Regulation of China (SAMR) has been carefully studying the company’s actions and negotiating with its representatives for a year. The main claims relate to 30-% of the commission for intra-game purchases and a ban on the use of third-party payment systems.
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Particular attention of Chinese regulators is aimed at whether the fees for local developers are unreasonably high. In addition, it is checked whether the Apple policy prohibits third -party applications and alternative payment methods, competition and negatively affects Chinese consumers. It is reported that this situation arose against the backdrop of a long -standing conflict between Apple and large Chinese technological companies, such as Tencent and ByTedance, which Apple put pressure on, demanding the closure of “Lasseek” in their applications that allow you to bypass the standard commission.
It is worth saying that the growing pressure from the regulators occurs against the background of the growing tension between the United States and China. For example, this week SAMR announced the beginning of an official investigation against Google almost immediately after the introduction of new American duties on Chinese goods. For Apple, the position in China remains especially complicated, since the country is a key production center for the iPhone and the largest foreign market of the company. At the same time, growing competition from domestic brands, such as Huawei, led to a decrease in Apple revenue in China by 11 % only in the last quarter.
Apple has long been faced with challenges from regulators around the world and has already introduced a number of changes to avoid fines and other sanctions. For example, the company adapted its practices in the European Union in accordance with the “Digital Markets Act (DMA). Nevertheless, the situation in China remains unique due to a combination of economic, political and competitive factors. If the investigation still begins, this may become a problem for the Apple business model, which traditionally relies on strict control of the ecosystem of its devices and services.
So far, the dialogue between Apple and SAMR continues, and its results can affect not only the future of the company, but, according to experts, on the entire structure of the digital market in China.