What you need to know
- Apple is making a fresh bid to comply with new App Store laws in the Netherlands.
- It plans to eliminate the requirement that developers build separate apps for alternative payment methods.
- Apple says that it still plans to appeal the ruling, which it disagrees with, but is making this change in the meantime to demonstrate commitment to the law change.
Apple has made a fresh bid to comply with new App Store laws in the Netherlands but says that it still plans to appeal the ruling, which pertains to payment methods used by dating apps in the country.
Apple said in a news update to developers (opens in new tab):
Since February of this year, developers of dating apps on the App Store in the Netherlands have been able to use the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement or the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement to enable the capability to sell services through a payment system other than Apple's in-app purchase system. Apple established these entitlements as part of our plan to comply with a recent Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) order.
The company is now further amending these changes, notably by removing the separate binary requirement for apps. Previously, Apple had said that it would make developers create an entirely new and separate app if they wanted to offer alternative payments. This requirement, which caused much outcry at the time, is now gone, with developers now able to include the alternative payment system in their existing app. However, these apps will still be limited to the Netherlands storefront.
Apple says that it is going to provide updated and more-specific criteria to show developers which alternative payment methods they can use. Finally, Apple is adjusting the language in its warning that developers are required to show customers before they make payments using alternative methods, as well as reducing the number of times it is shown.
Apple concluded by saying that it still disagrees with the ACM's order and is appealing the ruling, but is making these changes meantime to "demonstrate Apple's ongoing commitment to fulfill its legal obligations in the Netherlands."
Apple made another big App Store change Wednesday, announcing that it was now letting developers of readers apps like Netflix and Spotify offer links to websites for account creation and management. It will let apps like those from the aforementioned companies direct users away from their apps so they can sign up and pay for services outside of Apple's in-app purchase system, bypassing Apple's 30% commission rate.
