The South Korean parliament has passed a bill that will require companies such as Apple[1] and Google[2] to allow the use of payment services other than their own proprietary systems for the purchase of digital goods within their app stores.
Amendments to the country’s Telecommunications Business Act will prevent app store operators restricting the choice of payment systems that developers can make available to their customers and will also prevent them from “unreasonably delaying” the approval of apps or removing them from the marketplace.
“The move comes amid growing global scrutiny against Google and Apple, who maintain a strong grip over mobile ecosystems, for requiring developers on their app stores to use their proprietary payment systems that charge fees of up to 30% when users purchase digital goods within apps,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports[3].
“Developers around the world have questioned app market operators’ exclusive in-app payment systems, opposing their relatively high commissions and demanding that they should be able to freely use other systems.
“The latest legislation in South Korea is expected to give app developers the choice to use other payment systems, potentially signaling a major shift in how Google and Apple run their app markets.”
“The legislative movement in South Korea picked up after Google announced in September last year it would enforce its billing system on all developers on its Play store starting October this year,” Yonhap adds.
“Local tech groups vehemently opposed the move, calling it a monopolistic measure and saying it would likely lead to a price hike in the broader digital content industry.
“South Korea is home to a robust mobile app economy, with total sales from Google’s Play store at
