French Court Levies Fine Against Apple for Abusive App Store Practices

[MacRumors]

The French Commercial Court in Paris today fined Apple $1 million for abusive App Store practices, reports Reuters. Apple imposed unfair commercial clauses on French app developers for access to the App Store, according to the ruling.

The decision is the result of a multi-year investigation by France's consumer affairs and fraud watchdog (DGCCRF), overseen by the French ministry of finance. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has been championing the rights of developers, and he believes that Apple and Google's app stores take advantage of software developers. His investigation found that there are "significant imbalances" in the relationships between Apple and Google and the developers that sell apps on those stores.

In a statement, Apple said that it will look into the court's decision and will continue to work with French developers. The company also said that it believes in "vibrant and competitive markets" that allow innovation to flourish.

We will review this French court decision closely and will continue working hard to deliver support for developers and a safe experience for users.

Through the App Store, we've helped French developers of all sizes share their passion and creativity with users around the world while creating a secure and trusted place for customers.

The fine that Apple has been hit with is minuscule in terms of the company's income, but it could potentially lead to orders for App Store rule changes.

Apple is dealing with several other inquiries into its App Store and business practices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the United States, to name a few.

Article Link: French Court Levies Fine Against Apple for Abusive App Store Practices

 

[britboyj]

Absolutely not going to be the last.

 

[surfzen21]

Maybe app developers should have a union.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Wow. If only these devs could choose to not work with Apple. I wonder how many guns Apple held to their heads to force them to develop for iOS?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Apple store belongs to Apple and Google Play stop belongs to Google/Android Market. I hate when the government gets involved in tech companies' business models.

 

[Scipster]

Seems the French are having trouble winning: football, wars, supporting vibrant and competitive markets, etc 😂

Hope Apple appeals and wins outright, as they should!

 

[purplerainpurplerain]

This is a juicer fine. 520 times bigger.

FTC fines Fortnite maker Epic Games $520M over children's privacy and item shop charges | TechCrunch

Epic Games will pay the FTC two record-breaking settlements over allegedly violating children's online privacy laws.

techcrunch.com

Their CEO wants to force metaverse garbage on kids and that stuff tracks users everywhere. It tracks everything about users.

But yeah sure say Apple did something bad. Microsoft and Sony stores on consoles are the same as the iOS App Store.

 

[ghanwani]

Everything Apple did was OK until they gave up on privacy. Now it’s a slow and steady descent into being Android. So they might as well just copy the Android model for everything.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

French Court should be fining Facebook/Metaverse for spying on privacy.

 

[ilikewhey]

Apple store belongs to Apple and Google Play stop belongs to Google/Android Market. I hate when the government gets involved in tech companies' business models.

French Court should be fining Facebook/Metaverse for spying on privacy.

so which is it, govt should not get involved in tech companies' business models or govt' should get involved and levy fines against tech companiess' business models. 😂

 

[mc.242x]

Someone at Apple just pulled up the sofa cushions for spare change and paid the fine. Seriously, this is like them fining me $.50 hoping to teach a lesson.

 

[ilikewhey]

Someone at Apple just pulled up the sofa cushions for spare change and paid the fine. Seriously, this is like them fining me $.50 hoping to teach a lesson.

lol word, 1m to apple is like a rounding error.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Wow. If only these devs could choose to not work with Apple. I wonder how many guns Apple held to their heads to force them to develop for iOS?

Like it or not, Apple basically has a monopoly on some markets. I can think of 2 off of the top of my head, where the only options are Windows or iOS for connectivity, and the Windows userbase is something like 0.05% of the iOS userbase. So you end up in a situation where you either support iOS, or don't work on the project. There's not a literal gun to your head, but there's certainly not a lot of wiggle room.

 

[Mousse]

If Apple allowed emulators on the AppStore, none of this would happen.

They do an adequate job of keeping the crap out, but don't toss the baby out with the bath water. Emulators are useful bits of kit.

 

[So@So@So]

When Apple allows 3rd party App Store, iPhone purchases will increase. I know many people to prefer Android because it is more "open". If you believe the Apple's App Store is a guarantee for security – no it's not, it's a just guarantee for Apple policies and money. Security is mainly achieved by (good code and restrictions* in) iOS itself.
* This restrictions will automatically apply to apps installed from other sources.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I want to be able to sideload to a Nintendo Switch, XBox, PS5, and I also want to be able to install a custom firmware into my car without voiding the warranty.

 

[PauloSera]

What's the point of fining Apple $1 million dollars? That's like fining people $1 for speeding tickets.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

When Apple allows 3rd party App Store, iPhone purchases will increase. I know many people to prefer Android because it is more "open". If you believe the Apple's App Store is a guarantee for security – no it's not, it's a just guarantee for Apple policies and money. Security is mainly achieved by (good code and restrictions* in) iOS itself.
* This restrictions will automatically apply to apps installed from other sources.

In a perfect world you would be right… but not in the world we live in.
Opening it will give hackers the advantage to install malware on Apple mobile devices.

It seems this is unavoidable, so Apple should be implementing a way to control what installs and require some kind of certificate to allow an app from a 3rd Party Store to be able to install.
It’s not going to be 100% ‘open’.

 

[PauloSera]

I want to be able to sideload to a Nintendo Switch, XBox, PS5, and I also want to be able to install a custom firmware into my car without voiding the warranty.

Funny thing is, I don't want to do any of those things because I would prefer that they just work with minimal effort on my side.

 

[PauloSera]

In a perfect world you would be right… but not in the world we live in.
Opening it will give hackers the advantage to install malware on Apple mobile devices.

It seems this is unavoidable, so Apple should be implementing a way to control what installs and require some kind of certificate to allow an app from a 3rd Party Store to be able to install.
It’s not going to be 100% ‘open’.

Hackers can't just "install" malware on my iPhone, just like they haven't been able to just "install" it on my Mac for the last several decades. I have to first do something stupid and invite them to do so.

 

[I7guy]

Would be nice if the writers expanded on the unfair rules, even though there was a link.

 

[frenchcamp49er]

They needed to file their coffers as they are running out of money. They will continue find ways to "fine" American tech companies. American Tech should just pull out of the EU, its only 1% of app sale anyway.

 

[strongy]

If Apple allowed emulators on the AppStore, none of this would happen.

They do an adequate job of keeping the crap out, but don't toss the baby out with the bath water. Emulators are useful bits of kit.

so basically you just want to do illegal stuff got it

 

[hpereznoble]

USA should do the same, but surely politican parties don’t want to lose money from Apple for their campaigns.

 

[nt5672]

In a perfect world you would be right… but not in the world we live in.
Opening it will give hackers the advantage to install malware on Apple mobile devices.

No it will not give any hackers the advantage, unless the phones owner opts into it. This is why there is never any balanced discussion. You want your phone secure, then don't opt in. Others have other priorities and knowledge.