Android phone: While Google's control of Android isn't as rigid as Apple's, it's still met with resistance
Photo: DPA
Shortly after the European Union passed new laws regulating large digital platforms, Google today announced relaxations for developers of Android apps.
From now on, companies should be allowed to integrate alternative payment systems in their apps in order to save on commission payments to Google.
In a first step, however, game developers are excluded from this relief.
In addition, this innovation only applies to apps on the smartphones of users in the European Economic Zone.
The app stores have long been a bone of contention between Google, Apple and numerous antitrust authorities around the world.
Unlike Apple, Google also allows alternative app stores on its Android mobile platform.
But app developers who are looking for a broad audience can hardly avoid the company's own Play Store.
Although users can also install programs from the developers' websites, they must ignore Google's security warnings to do so.
Service fee instead of payment system
Google announced a general price reduction in a blog post today: Instead of 15 percent, the IT group only wants to charge 12 percent of sales if app developers use Google's infrastructure and payment system.
If you want to sell content to Google, you still have to give up part of the income: Google charges a "service fee" of three percent of app sales for the maintenance of the infrastructure.
In addition, the apps must meet the security requirements of the group.
However, the most lucrative apps are still excluded from these conditions.
Games like "Fortnite" in particular are not only paying millions into the coffers of their developers, but also into those of the app store operators Apple and Google.
These companies have been trying to defend themselves against this business model for years.
The "Digital Markets Act" finally passed by the EU member states today prohibits platform operators from exploiting their monopoly position in order to give preference to their own services and products.
Google wants to present separate conditions for game developers before the new law comes into force.
Google, along with other IT companies, has been under increased surveillance by European competition watchdogs for several years. In 2018, the EU Commission imposed a record fine of 4.3 billion euros on Google.
On Tuesday, the Russian antitrust authorities also announced that they would fine Apple for abusing its market position in the App Store.
tmk/Reuters
