Digital Markets Act: Apple restructures App Store in the EU once again
Following pressure from the EU Commission, Apple changes prices for app developers and allows things that weren't previously possible. The concept is chaotic.
App store icon against a cloudy background.
(Image: Tada Images / Shutterstock)
Apple is accommodating the EU Commission and is making further adjustments to the European App Store to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This had already become apparent, as the company would otherwise have faced high additional penalties. Developers will once again be faced with new tariffs and, above all, opportunities to market their applications via the Apple Software Store and beyond. However, the thicket of tariffs is difficult to navigate – and more details are likely to follow in the coming days.
CTF is going, CTC is coming
According to Apple, developers will be allowed to advertise offers “through all channels”, not just their websites. This includes other apps, alternative app marketplaces (as Apple calls alternative app stores) and external websites. In-app content may have a native UI as well as in-app web views, for example to promote purchases via your offer. Developers can also use any URL, no longer just a static –. Tracking is also permitted, as are redirects. Links and advertising can be “freely designed,” Apple continues. The dialogs in which Apple informs users that they are leaving the App Store (“scare sheets”) will also be less – and can also be hidden by opting out. The installation of alternative app marketplaces will also be simplified and less cumbersome for users.
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At the same time, Apple is also changing its fees – partly now and partly with effect from January 1, 2026. This applies to all developers, regardless of whether they distribute directly, use the App Store for in-app sales or use alternative app marketplaces. The controversial “Core Technology Fee” (CTF) for “digital goods and services” will no longer apply from January 1. It will be replaced by a “Core Technology Commission” (CTC) and an “Initial Acquisition Fee”. This amounts to 2 percent on sales of digital goods and services “by new users” within six months of the first download of an app. Developers under the “Small Business Program” (less than one million US dollars turnover per year) do not have to pay the CTC. The CTC also does not have to be paid for users who already exist.
Sweeney: “Commercially crippled”
Apple will also introduce two new “tiers” as a “Store Service Fee”. Basic services such as “app distribution and app delivery”, security functions and app management are available for 5 percent commission (Tier One). For 13 percent (Tier Two), “all services from today's App Store” are included. What this means in concrete terms remains to be seen. Confusingly, according to 9to5Mac, there is also another CTC tariff tier, which apparently applies permanently if sales are made via alternative channels: It is said to be 5 percent. Confusingly, there will initially be CTC and CTF at the same time, and Apple also has two different “terms” (standard and alternative), which further confuses developers.
In an initial reaction, Apple was immediately criticized again: Epic boss Tim Sweeney, who has been in a legal dispute with Apple for years, wrote on X that Apple's adjustments were “malicious compliance” and that competing payment methods would not only be taxed, but also “commercially crippled”.
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