After Trump tariffs: Apple threatens trouble from Chinese antitrust watchdogs
Apple is in trouble with the state market regulator in Beijing: they want to take a closer look at the App Store business model.
Apple store in Shanghai: After the USA and the EU, China is investigating the App Store.
(Image: gob_cu / Shutterstock)
The Chinese government has set its antitrust authorities' sights on Apple. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) in Beijing is to investigate whether Apple's App Store commission of up to 30 percent is justified. The proceedings, which are currently still at an early stage, are reminiscent of similar procedures by the EU Commission, the US government and various other countries.
The approach is similar to that of the EU
Previously, a Chinese app provider had already filed a lawsuit against Apple, which is reminiscent of the legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games over app store payment methods. This time, however, the pressure is coming from the state: Beijing is apparently also seeking new leverage against Apple because of the trade dispute with the USA. As the financial news agency Bloomberg writes, one of the issues at stake in possible proceedings is Apple's usual obligation to its app store developers not to integrate their own payment systems.
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The dispute is said to be about Apple's relationship with major Chinese developers such as ByteDance (TikTok / Douyin) or Tencent (WeChat). The SAMR seems to assume that Apple is demanding "unreasonably high fees" from Chinese developers. The ban on alternative app stores is also seen as a problem.
Digital Markets Act as a model?
The authority did not comment when asked by Bloomberg by fax. It remains unclear when proceedings against the Chinese app store could begin. In Europe, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), an EU regulation in force since last year, ensures that Apple has had to restructure the App Store and allow alternative offerings.
China is of great importance to Apple. In addition to the fact that most of the Group's products are still manufactured in the People's Republic, the country is regularly Apple's second to third largest market in terms of revenue. Recently, however, sales have continued to fall – more than Wall Street had forecast. Competitors such as Huawei are running regular campaigns for smartphones "made in China", which is costing Apple market share in particular. The lack of AI functions in China is also not helping the company.
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