What you need to know
- Apple might be in trouble in South Korea.
- Lawmakers claim the country is not satisfied with Apple's level of compliance with new laws in South Korea.
- Recent changes mean Apple and Google have to let developers offer alternative in-app payments.
South Korean lawmakers are reportedly unhappy with both Apple and Google over the levels of compliance with new app store laws in the country.
From Reuters:
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google are not doing enough to comply with South Korea's law barring dominant app store operators from making app developers use only their proprietary payment systems, a lawmaker who spearheaded the amendment told Reuters.
As the report notes, South Korea is expected to make public the first details of how it expects companies like Apple and Google to comply with new app store laws that state developers must be allowed to offer alternative payment methods for in-app purchases.
Apple has told South Korea it already complies with the laws, however, it is unclear how this is the case. Apple has not changed its payment rules in the country and the law was designed specifically to alter the current state of affairs. South Korea lawmaker Jo Seoung-lae said "frankly, we are not satisfied" with the levels of compliances, stating "excessive fees take away developers' chances for innovation ... parliament is to be closely informed as the government drafts detailed regulations to make sure there is accountability."
Korea Communications Commission Vice Chairman Kim Hyun stated that it is creating "finely woven" new details to put the laws into practice in March of next year. Google has adopted a new payment system in South Korea that reduces commission by 4% on payments made using alternative payment methods on the Google Play store.
It comes as Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Apple "must be stopped" given it was not complying with laws in the country.
