South Korea fined Alphabet’s Google
The Korea Media and Communications Commission, the country’s media and telecommunications regulator, fined Google 42.9B won ($32M) and Apple 20.8B won ($15.5M) following a yearslong investigation into potential violations of a 2021 law barring app store operators from requiring developers to use specific payment systems.
The regulator ordered both companies to allow South Korean developers to use external payment links within their apps and to improve their app review procedures.
The commission said Google and Apple unfairly pushed app developers toward their own in-app payment systems while barring payments through external websites. Although the companies technically allowed third-party payment systems within apps, they charged developers a 26% commission and withheld some features available through their own systems, effectively forcing developers to use only their in-app payment systems, the commission said.
It also found instances where the companies delayed app reviews without clearly explaining to developers the reasons for the delays or when reviews would resume. It also accused Apple of charging South Korean developers higher commissions than developers elsewhere from 2015 to January 2023.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
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