South Korea's parliament passes key law to curb Apple, Google duopoly

The Bill bans major app store operators from forcing software developers to use their payment systems

South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday approved a Bill that bans major app store operators, such as Google and Apple, from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases.
 

It is the first such curb by a major economy on the likes of Apple and Alphabet’s Google, which face global criticism for requiring the use of proprietary payment systems that charge commissions of up to 30 per cent.
 

The final vote was 180 in favour out of 188 attending to pass the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, dubbed the “Anti-Google law”.
 

“We’ll reflect on how to comply with this law while maintaining a model that supports a high-quality operating system and app store, and we will share more in the coming weeks,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
 

Google added Google Play provides far more than payment processing, and its service fee helps keep Android free, giving developers the tools and global platform to access billions of consumers around the world.
 

“It’s a model that keeps device costs low for consumers and enables both platforms and developers to succeed financially. And just as it costs developers money to build an app, it costs us money to build and maintain an operating system and app store.”
 

Apple responded to an email reiterating a statement issued last week. “We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal — leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW8.55 trillion to date with Apple,” Apple stated.