A South Korean parliamentary committee voted on Wednesday to recommend amending a law, a key step toward banning Apple and Google from charging software developers commissions on in-app purchases, the first such curb by a major economy.
After the vote from the legislation and judiciary committee to amend the Telecommunications Business Act, the amendment will come to a final vote in parliament that was scheduled for Wednesday, August 25th, but has been provisionally delayed to Aug. 30, a parliament official told Reuters.
Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have faced global criticism because they require software developers using their app stores to use proprietary payment systems that charge commissions of up to 30%.
In a statement on Tuesday, Apple said the bill “will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections,” hurt user trust in App Store purchases and lead to fewer opportunities for South Korean developers.
Wilson White, senior director of public policy at Google, said “the rushed process hasn’t allowed for enough analysis of the negative impact of this legislation on Korean consumers and app developers.”
Based on South Korean parliament records, the amendment bans app store operators with dominant market positions from forcing payment systems on content providers and “inappropriately” delaying the review of, or deleting, mobile contents from app markets. It also allows the South Korean government to require an app market operator to “prevent damage to users and protect the rights and interests of users”, probe app market operators, and mediate disputes regarding payment, cancellations or refunds in the app market.
MacDailyNews Take: The Republic of Samsung wants to pass laws that penalize law-abiding companies – every store charges commissions – that benefit Samsung.
Par for the corrupt South Korean course.
