Brazil says Apple's App Store anti-steering rules are illegal

Apple's struggles against antitrust agencies continue. This time, Brazil has declared its App Store's anti-steering rules as illegal.

Brazil antitrust regulator, CADE, said that Apple's transaction fees are unfair to developers, and that it must lift restrictions on payment methods that are used for in-app purchases. Apple must allow app developers to add options so that users can buy/subscribe to services outside the app, i.e. by using URLS that may take them to external websites.

Apple has been hit by similar accusations in the U.S. An injunction in 2021 in its lawsuit against Epic Games forced Apple to allow alternate payment methods, but a federal judge found the implementation to be unfair. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said that Apple had deliberately used deceptive "scare screens" and static URLs to prevent users from opting to use third-party payment methods. The company had argued that it is not motivated by money, but the judge pointed out that its executive had lied under oath about Apple's financial motives.

As a result of this, Apple lost its appeal against the injunction, and was ordered to open up its App Store to allow other payment options. It also faces a class-action lawsuit in the U.S., for its App Store payment policies. The company charges a 27% commission fee on all transactions, which have been widely criticized as exorbitant. The EU had also criticized Apple's walled garden, and the Digital Markets Act that came into effect in 2023, forced the American tech mogul to allow third-party app stores in the European markets.

9to5Mac reports that Apple has to comply with the Brazilian regulator's ruling within 20 days, before it is hit by daily fines. Many countries view Apple's closed system as a monopolistic market, so this won't be the last time we hear of such rulings.

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