Apple files new EU concessions on App Store and payments as DMA pressure intensifies
Enzo Reno ·
Apple filed revised Digital Markets Act commitments with the European Commission on Wednesday in Brussels, seeking to narrow its dispute over App Store terms and iOS payments. The move follows preliminary findings issued in 2024 that Apple’s steering restrictions and new business terms may breach the DMA, which exposes designated gatekeepers to fines of up to 10 percent of global revenue.
The filing matters because the Commission can escalate to penalties or behavioral orders if it deems earlier changes insufficient. Developers including Epic Games and Spotify have argued that Apple’s fees and technical conditions still inhibit real choice, and regulators have signaled they want concrete, measurable changes this summer.
What Apple is offering
According to people familiar with the submission, Apple’s updated package addresses three fronts that have drawn scrutiny. It refines the economics of its alternative App Store pathway in the European Economic Area, it further clarifies steering allowances for developers that use third party payments, and it codifies expanded access to iPhone NFC for banks and wallets beyond Apple Pay under fair and nondiscriminatory terms.
Apple has already unbundled some in app payment rules in Europe and enabled a browser choice screen, but the Commission said in June 2024 that steering remained too limited. The new filing is intended to align with that feedback, though the Commission must still assess whether it delivers effective compliance, according to officials familiar with the review.
Regulatory and market context
The Commission opened non compliance cases against Apple, Alphabet, and Meta on March 25, 2024 under the DMA. It later decided not to designate iMessage as a core platform service, but kept App Store, iOS, and Safari in scope. Repeat violations can draw fines of up to 20 percent of worldwide turnover, and structural remedies are available for systemic infringements, according to the Commission.
Apple reported 2023 net sales of 383.3 billion dollars, with Europe contributing 95.1 billion dollars, according to its Form 10 K. iOS held around 28 to 30 percent smartphone share in Europe in 2023, with Android above 65 percent, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple has cited an Analysis Group study that estimated 1.1 trillion dollars in 2022 commerce facilitated by the App Store.
A resolution in Brussels would influence how platform fees, default settings, and on device payments work across mobile ecosystems. Google has already adjusted Play billing in Europe and the United States under separate cases, and outcomes in the EU tend to inform strategies for regulators in the United Kingdom, the United States, and India that are weighing similar rules on app distribution and digital gatekeepers.