What you need to know
- IAC and Expedia chairman Barry Diller has blasted Apple's App Store fees.
- He says that his companies and others are "overcharged in a disgusting manner".
- He also said that Apple's justification of protecting the App Store was criminal.
IAC and Expedia chairman Barry Diller has said Apple's App Store fees overcharge in a "disgusting manner".
From CNBC:
Business mogul Barry Diller ripped into Apple on Friday over the fees it charges companies that have applications on the iPhone maker's App Store.In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," the chairman of IAC and Expedia said his companies, and others like them, are "overcharged in a disgusting manner."
Diller further stated, "The idea that they actually justify it by saying, 'We spend all this money protecting our little App Store', I mean it's criminal. Well, it will be criminal".
Diller said Apple and Google had a "quasi-monopoly", stating that Apple's 30% commission "makes no sense":
"Match, little Match.com, pays $500 million a year to Apple to go through their store. Does that seem rational to you?" Diller said, referring to the dating company that Diller's IAC spun out into a separate entity last year.
Diller said that regulation was good for a company of sufficient size, but that he was not calling for Apple to be broken up, he also bemoaned Netflix's "insurmountable advantage" in streaming video.
Diller didn't seem to offer any concrete reasons or evidence for his claims, but they likely echo and reflect Apple's ongoing legal battle with Epic Games regarding in-app purchases and payments, and app distribution in the iOS App Store.
