By: The Guardian
September 2, 2021
Apple has made a significant concession in its battle for control of the App Store, after the Japanese trade commission ruled that the company’s restrictions on apps such as Spotify, Netflix and Kindle were anticompetitive.
Those “reader apps”, which allow users to view, read or listen to content purchased elsewhere, were previously banned by Apple’s policies from telling people how to subscribe to – or buy content from – their services. That lead to outcomes such as Netflix’s iOS app offering the ability to log in to an account, but no way to sign up for an account, nor even a hint that users need to sign up in the first place.
The change is minimal: Apple agreed with Japan’s fair trade commission (JFTC) to let developers of these apps share a single link to their website to help users set up and manage their account. But it is the second time in less than a week the company has been forced into softening its notoriously strict rules, after a developer lawsuit led to Apple agreeing to let users be contacted by email with alternative payment options.