Spotify, Epic Games, Match Group Inc, and 10 other companies and organizations launched the a coalition (the deceptively-named “Coalition for App Fairness”) on Thursday to push Apple and Google to change their app store rules.
The group launched a website outlining 10 “App Store Principles,” including one that states platform owners should not use developers’ data to compete with them. Another says developers should not be required to exclusively use a particular app store or payment system.
The group also criticized Apple’s 30% cut for most apps and subscriptions. Match, which runs Tinder and other popular dating apps, took aim at Apple’s in-app payment system, known as IAP.
“Apple’s IAP forces consumers to pay higher prices by inserting Apple between app developers and their users, leading to customer confusion and dissatisfaction,” Mark Buse, head of global government relations and policy at Match, said.
The group also includes Basecamp, which previously criticized Apple over the handling of its Hey email app. Tile, Deezer, ProtonMail, Blockchain.com, Skydemon, Prepear, News Media Europe, Blix and the European Publishers Council are also members.
MacDailyNews Take: Spotify, Epic Games, Match, and the other whiners want all of the benefits afforded to them by Apple’s App Store for free. How is that “fair?”
Here’s another question: How much did it cost developers to have their applications burned onto CDs, boxed, shipped, and displayed on store shelves prior to Apple remaking the world for the better for umpteenth time?