What Happens as Country-by-Country App Store Legislation Increases?

Nadezhda Tsydenova, reporting for Reuters from Moscow:

The bill, submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament by lawmaker Fedot Tumusov, stipulates that commissions on the sale of applications be capped at 20%. Apple currently collects a 30% commission on sales in its App Store.

The bill, if adopted, would also oblige app sellers to pay a third of their commissions to a special training fund for IT specialists on a quarterly basis.

There’s no sign that this proposal will become law, but what if it did? What happens if — or more likely, when — countries start passing laws that mandate third-party app stores? For a small country, Apple might just walk away — like Facebook and Google are with news in Australia. But what does Apple do if China mandates third-party app stores?

One of the big downsides of Apple’s complete control over the iOS platform is that it creates an obvious target for legislation.

★ Friday, 4 September 2020