Apple is in hot water in South Korea because it was accused of forcing developers to use the tech giant's payment systems on the app store. According to the reports, the tech giant was not complying with the official South Korean legislation.
Apple Compliance with South Korean Legislation
As per a report by Reuters, lawmaker Jo Seoung-lae said that Apple is not doing enough to comply along with South Korean legislation. The legislation strictly forbids app store operators from pushing developers only to use their payment systems.
According to the story by MacRumors, it was stated that through an amendment to the Telecommunication Business Act, the country is the very first country that is endeavoring to stop developers from being forced to only use just one payment system that app store operators are offering. The law officially came to effect in September.
Details of Expectations Not Yet Fully Drafted
However, the exact details of what companies are expected to do to comply with the new law have not yet been fully drafted. Just recently, Apple directly told the South Korean government that the company was already complying with the new law and did not need to change its own App Store policies.
The lawmaker responsible for spearheading the amendment, Jo Seoung-lae, told Reuters that, frankly, they are not yet satisfied. Seoung-lae said that the company's claim that it is already complying was "nonsensical."
Effect of Taking Excessive Fees
Seoung-lae said that excessive fees directly take away chances for developers to innovate. The parliament is to be closely informed as the government is now drafting detailed regulations in order to ensure that there is accountability.
As of the moment, it remains unclear as to how the platform operators will be sanctioned if ever the regulations are breached. Reuters, the publication that has seen the draft, says that it could involve fines that go all the way up to two percent of the total revenue.
KCC to Announce the New Obligations
The first details regarding what Apple will need to do in order to meet the company's new obligations in South Korea are expected to be made public by the KCC or the Korea Communications Commission. The announcement will be ahead of the law, coming into full effect by March 2022.
In a recent interview at the official Global Conference for Mobile Application Ecosystem Fairness in Seoul, Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, decided to renew its ongoing attack on Apple and also called for a single, universal app store.
Apple South Korean Unit New Company Policy
In an article by Reuters on October 15, it was said that the regulator would ask Apple's official South Korean unit for a new company policy. The new company policy is expected to give greater autonomy when it comes to payment methods.
If Apple failed to comply with the policies, the regulators would consider measures like a fact-finding probe as a precursor to any possible fines or other penalties.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
