Apple says UK App Store proposal amounts to price regulation

By Sam Tabahriti

Wed, July 29, 2026 astatine 10:55 AM CDT 2 min read

By Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Apple said connected Wednesday that projected UK rules governing its App Store would magnitude to terms ‌regulation, arguing that plans to loosen its power implicit in-app payments ‌could undermine innovation and investment.

In a submission to Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the iPhone shaper ​said projected "steering" requirements would spell beyond promoting contention and springiness the regulator a "highly intrusive" relation successful managing its business.

The CMA's consultation, which closed connected Monday, is portion of its efforts to boost contention and user choice. Its projected measures ‌would let app developers to ⁠direct users to outgo options extracurricular Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store and necessitate immoderate fees charged for specified ⁠steering to beryllium just and reasonable.

Apple said the App Store facilitated much than £46.5 cardinal ($61.8 billion) successful UK billings and income successful 2025, with commissions accounting for little ​than 3.5% ​of the total. It added that ​there was nary grounds changes to ‌its outgo exemplary would little prices for consumers.

"Under the (consultation), the CMA would not lone modulate Apple's prices, but besides restrict the products and services for which Apple tin complaint a commission," the institution said successful its submission.

Gene Burrus, planetary argumentation counsel for the Coalition for App Fairness, which has agelong campaigned ‌for restrictions connected Apple and Google app ​store practices, said Apple's arguments overlooked the barriers ​developers face.

"Apple is utilizing its ​position arsenic the ascendant level gatekeeper to springiness itself unfair ‌and unwarranted competitory advantages," Burrus said.

Apple ​has antecedently said ​developers already person aggregate ways to transact with users extracurricular its platform.

The CMA consultation is portion of Britain's caller integer markets regime, which gives ​the watchdog powers to ‌impose tailored requirements connected companies designated arsenic having "strategic marketplace status".

Apple and ​Google were designated nether the authorities past year.

($1 = 0.7521 pounds)

(Reporting by ​Sam Tabahriti. Editing by Mark Potter)