US officials aren’t the only ones battling Google and Apple’s mobile store monopoly. South Korean authorities are preparing to pass a law that will allow developers to use third-party payment systems and not pay fees for transactions within the application, says NIXsolutions.
According to App2Top, the Korean initiative could be the first such ban on these companies by a large economy. It also has the potential to hit Google and Apple’s earnings hard. We will remind that during the trial in the Epic Games case surfaced that 62% of the App Store’s revenue comes from purchases in games.
Note that formally, the so-called “Law against Google” does not say that it is aimed at limiting the power of Google and Apple. If the law is passed, then it will apply to all “owners of mobile stores that occupy a dominant position in the market.”
However, these store owners refer to these two companies. Apple owns the App Store, the only mobile app store on iOS, and Google controls the Play Store, the largest store on Android. In addition, Google is directly indicated in the unofficial title of the law.
It is expected that today the bill will be considered by the Parliamentary Committee on the Legislation and Judicial System of South Korea. If approved, the final vote on it will take place tomorrow.
Apple and Google have not yet commented on the Korean authorities’ initiative.
Two weeks ago, American senators came forward with a similar bill. They proposed five key changes to large mobile stores. In particular, allow developers to use third-party payment systems in applications and talk about discounts on in-game items outside of stores.