Apple announced on Wednesday, April 11, it would stop taking a cut of some sales for “qualifying” streaming video services on iPhones and other Apple devices, including Amazon.com’s Prime Video.
To make purchases inside apps on its App Store, Apple requires the use of Apple’s own payment systems and takes a commission of between 15% and 30% before passing on the rest to the third-party app developer, reported Reuters.
Many of Apple’s rivals in streaming music and video, such as Netflix and Spotify Technology, avoid paying those commissions by asking users to sign up with a credit card outside the App Store. That leaves those rivals’ apps serving as log-in screens for existing customers.
Spotify claimed Apple’s practices hurt its business by making it harder for iPhone users to sign up for Spotify instead of Apple Music and filed an antitrust complaint last year in the European Union. Spotify has also raised the issue with the US Justice Department and the House Judiciary Committee, both of which have antitrust probes pending regarding Apple.
Full Content: Reuters
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