Apple has to allow app third-party marketplaces on the iPhone as well as other payment providers, as required by Japan’s new legislation.
Japan has a law, the “Act on Promotion of Competition” aimed to curb tech firms’ dominance in the smartphone market, that forces Apple to permit access to third-party payment providers and app stores on their iOS devices. The law was passed by the upper house of Japan and will be imposed within eighteen months after approval of the Cabinet.
With this, Apple users and App developers can also use third-party payment methods as Apple is forced to make big adjustments in its business practices. The law prevents Apple from giving preferential treatment to its services, does not permit the use of data found about the competition for the benefit of its own software, and states that third party developers must be permitted to have access to the same attributes that exist in Apple’s services and apps.
The new legislation is expected to be fully carried out by last quarter of 2025.
