Bloomberg recently reported that the Chinese government is looking at the App Store and possible antitrust concerns.
The SAMR, or State Administration for Market Regulation is believed to be examining external payment service restrictions and in-app purchase commissions. Regulators are focusing on the App Store fees and how it might affect local developers, and the prohibition of third party payment methods and app stores. These things could have a negative impact on consumers and stifle the competition. Bloomberg said that the Chinese government might launch an investigation is Apple shows resistance in making policy changes.
The discussion is said to be coming from disputes between developers and Apple. It also comes from rising tension between China and the US. A new US tariff was imposed on China and SAMR immediately launched an antitrust probe against Google’s practices. Apple has faced regulatory scrutiny before and made changes to circumvent sanctions in the EU, for example.
