UK Regulator Moves to Crack Open Apple and Google App Store Grip
Britain's CMA wants Apple and Google to let developers point users to alternative payment methods and open up NFC access.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is coming for Apple and Google's app store stranglehold. The regulator proposed new rules that would force both tech giants to relax their developer payment "steering" restrictions in the UK market.
The key change: app developers would finally be allowed to direct users toward alternative payment options outside the App Store and Google Play. That's a direct hit to the commission-heavy payment systems both companies have long enforced.
Apple faces an additional demand — opening up its NFC technology to third parties. That's the tap-to-pay hardware baked into every iPhone, currently locked down tight for Apple's own services.
Google's response? It claims it has "already made the changes" the CMA is proposing. Apple has yet to publicly respond to the proposals.
The move mirrors similar regulatory pushes across Europe targeting Big Tech's platform gatekeeping.