The apple "settlement" offer: A raw deal for developers and consumers
“Apple's sham settlement offer is nothing more than a desperate attempt to avoid the judgment of courts, regulators, and legislators worldwide. This offer does nothing to address the structural, foundational problems facing all developers, large and small, undermining innovation and competition in the app ecosystem. Allowing developers to communicate with their customers about lower prices outside of their apps is not a concession and further highlights Apple’s total control over the app marketplace. If this settlement is approved, app makers will still be barred from communicating about lower prices or offering competing payment options within their apps. We will not be appeased by empty gestures and will continue our fight for fair and open digital platforms.”
| what it does | what it doesn't do |
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Allow apps to communicate with their customers regarding payment methods outside of the app
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Allow developers to communicate directly with their users within the app — allowing Apple to claim this as a win for developers, when in fact it is another complicated layer for both developers and customers |
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Continue the policy of charging 15% app tax for app developers generating $1 million or less annually and 30% app tax for all other apps
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Prohibit app stores from requiring app developers to use in-app payment systems |
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Create fund to pay claims made by small app developers — yet 85% will receive $1,000 or less
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Require Apple to grant equal access to developers for programming interfaces, development information, and hardware and software features |
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Says Apple promises to ensure search results are based on “objective criteria,” and release an annual “transparency report”
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Stop Apple from self-preferencing their own apps
Prohibit Apple from stealing developers’ sensitive data and key business information to create competing apps Stop Apple from removing apps from the App Store as retaliation |
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Keep sole control of in-app purchases
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Allow third party app stores, allowing Apple to maintain their monopoly and total control of app distribution and the app ecosystem |