A new South Korean law will force Apple and Google to let developers choose their own payment systems, bypassing their 30% cuts.<\/b>
\nSouth Korea has passed a new bill that forces app stores to let developers use payment systems of their choice. Essentially, this means app devs can sidestep Apple and Google\u2019s up to 30% cuts by transacting directly with consumers or using a service that takes a smaller cut. The Telecommunications Business Act bill passed by South Korea\u2019s National Assembly will become law when it\u2019s signed by President Moon Jae-in, Bloomberg reported, which could be as early as next month. The bill has obvious implications for Apple and Google\u2019s businesses, as well as the ongoing legal suits Epic Studios brought against both companies. Epic would now be able to secure payments from users directly by using its own pay system and avoid giving Apple or Google any cut of the revenue. Apple has used its App Store as a gatekeeper for software, requiring developers to run through its approval process to release apps intended to run on iPhones (on iOS) and iPads (on iPadOS). Google permits \u2018side-loading\u2019 apps for phones and tablets running its Android operating system, but both it and Apple have forced apps to pay through first-party stores: if you\u2019re making money on your app, the tech giant that owns the OS and associated app store will take its cut. While this rigid control hasn\u2019t been popular with app developers, it\u2019s gone largely unchallenged until Epic engaged in simultaneous legal battles with both Apple and Google. Epic wants to put its own software store on iOS and Android devices, presumably but not officially to pay less or none of the revenue cuts to both tech giants. But the South Korean bill wasn\u2019t passed specifically to advocate for expanding software availability on mobile platforms \u2013 it only frees up developers to use a different payment service if they choose. Korean lawmakers reportedly passed this legislation to get ahead of Google closing a loophole that exempted the country from needing to use its payment system (and apply its 30% revenue cut) to non-gaming apps, per Bloomberg. Should Apple, Google or other companies fail to comply, they could be fined up to 3% of revenue made in South Korea, according to The Wall Street Journal. Both Apple and Google have claimed that restricting software through their app stores has kept users safe, with Apple claiming its efforts prevented a supposed $1.5 billion in fraud. But maintaining their hold on iOS, iPadOS and Android revenue is very lucrative: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store brought in a combined $64.9 billion in revenue in the first half of 2021, per a June report by analyst firm Sensor Tower. The big question is: what does this mean for app markets outside South Korea? While we knew that South Korean lawmakers were going to make a decision about Apple and Google\u2019s app stores, other countries have not introduced similar legislation \u2013 at least on a national level. The US state of Arizona\u2019s lawmakers proposed a bill in March similar to South Korea\u2019s that would free developers from being forced to use Apple and Google\u2019s payment systems. While the bill died in committee before the month\u2019s end, reportedly due to heavy lobbying by both tech giants just before the votes according to The Verge, it shows that some legislators elsewhere in the world are interested in the issue. That interest could reignite now that South Korea\u2019s efforts have become law \u2013 especially showing that legislation can succeed despite pushback from Apple and Google. We\u2019ll have to see whether laws succeed where Epic\u2019s legal trials have not.<\/p>\n