Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said Apple’s recently proposed App Store policy changes represent a “new low” for the tech giant. The head of Spotify, who has consistently criticized Apple’s stranglehold on the app market and the “taxes” it imposes on in-app purchases, calls Apple’s proposed changes “a robbery, plain and simple.”
business insider report Apple recently announced that it will allow iOS developers to distribute apps through third-party marketplaces, but only within the EU. The move comes as Apple complies with EU digital market laws aimed at limiting the power of big tech companies. But Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claims Apple’s response “makes a mockery of the spirit of the law.”
After sitting down with our legal team and parsing the fine print of Apple’s DMA announcement, which is vague and misleading at best (it took a while), I wanted to share my thoughts.
Apple has been doing bad things for years, but what they did yesterday is…
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) January 26, 2024
Under the new policy, Apple will continue to control which third-party marketplaces can run on iOS and will charge developers a “core technology fee” for downloads through third-party marketplaces. . For an app like Spotify, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times in the EU, this fee would significantly increase the cost of customer acquisition.
in blog post, Mr. Ek described the charges as “extortion, plain and simple.” He added that he believes Apple’s tactics hurt small developers and potential startups that lack the funds to pay. Ek said the new policy will likely force Spotify to “stick to the status quo” and stay in Apple’s App Store to maintain revenue.
Daniel Ek, CEO of Swedish music streaming service Spotify (Photo credit TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images)
Ek accused Apple of distorting the facts and not being clear about the new fees, saying he hopes the EU “recognizes this for what it is, takes a firm stand and doesn’t let all the years of work go to waste.” ” he added. Ek argues that Apple’s actions will strengthen the company’s tight control over the iOS ecosystem, hurt competition and innovation, and allow Apple to continue to use its platform’s power over developers.
Ek believes that as a result of Apple’s proposed policies, fewer innovative apps will reach iOS users and that Apple will continue to dominate app distribution and in-app payments. Developers will face limited choices, high costs, and restrictive policies that favor Apple.
In Ek’s view, Apple cannot justify the new marketplace fees, arguing that the company has not provided transparency about how the fees are calculated or what value developers receive in return. . Mr. Ek calls this an abuse of power and a violation of the principles of fair competition.
An Apple spokesperson said: “The changes we are sharing for apps in the European Union will give developers new options to distribute their iOS apps and process payments. You can choose to keep the terms, and under the new terms, more than 99% of developers will pay Apple the same amount or less.”
But Ek said these policies strengthen Apple’s tight control over iOS and hurt competition and innovation, and that the move threatens Apple’s failure to be an “open and fair platform” for developers. I think this shows that
In January 2023, Breitbart News reported that Spotify and eight other app developers and organizations sent a letter to European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, threatening legal action against Apple’s app distribution practices. He urged them to take action. “Apple benefits from its monopoly over the mobile ecosystem and charges exorbitant royalties from app developers who are forced to stay on the App Store to reach European consumers,” the letter said. “It is being collected.”
Spotify has been one of the most vocal critics of Apple’s unfair and anti-competitive business practices in the App Store.in press release Starting in October 2022, Spotify argued that Apple’s restrictions “hurt creators and consumers alike” and undermine “Spotify’s and other developers’ ability to provide a seamless user experience.”
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
