In-app commission: Apple in dispute with TikTok and WeChat operators in China
Up to now, the ByteDance and Tencent groups have bypassed Apple for game payments. The Group wants to change this.
TikTok and WeChat on one cell phone.
(Image: Boumen Japet / shutterstock.com)
So-called super apps, which combine all kinds of services in one app, have not been a big issue in Europe and the USA so far. In China, however, they are the norm. Users there spend a lot of time on WeChat, known as Weixin in China, to organize half their lives - although the main purpose of the app was originally to send text messages. ByteDance, operator of TikTok, also wants to develop Douyin, as TikTok is known in its home country, into a super app. Both providers, Weixin parent Tencent and Douyin owner ByteDance, are now increasingly in conflict with iPhone manufacturer Apple. The issue at stake is App Store commissions, which may not be paid via the super apps.
Apple makes demands
Apple's rules here are actually simple: the company wants 15 or 30 percent of the revenue from app sales, in-app payments and subscriptions, depending on the size of revenue, as long as it is digital content. However, this has not yet been the case for the hugely popular mini-apps and mini-games, which have many millions of users on Weixin and Douyin. Apple apparently no longer wants to put up with this, according to a Bloomberg report: the "loophole" is now to be closed.
Apple has entered into negotiations with Tencent and ByteDance in the world's largest smartphone market. The threat: future updates from Weixin or Douyin could no longer be released if the platforms continue to allow payments in mini-apps that run in their programs without Apple being involved. Apple also wants Tencent to deactivate an in-game messaging feature that could redirect users to other platforms.
Huawei also wants money
Apple's first announcements date back to May, Tencent is said to have not yet responded. Apple has taken similar action against ByteDance. There, too, the threat is to no longer allow updates from Douyin if payment backdoors are not closed. The iPhone manufacturer is under pressure in the Chinese market. Apple recently suffered a further drop in sales in the second or third-largest market, depending on how you count it. In-app payments, which are big business, could help Apple to find a balance here.
Meanwhile, it is not only Apple that is putting the thumbscrews on app providers, but also domestic providers such as Huawei. They would also like to be involved in the future as part of their "Harmony" ecosystem. However, the telecommunications giant does not yet dare to approach Tencent, Weixin explicitly states. Neither Tencent nor ByteDance commented on the conflict with Apple. The iPhone manufacturer only stated that it has guidelines for digital goods and that Apple's app review team also rejects apps that violate these guidelines.
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