By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Apple will extend a newly introduced core technology fee to iPadOS apps downloaded on its App Store after the operating system for iPads was added to a list of key services subject to EU tech rules, the iPhone maker said on Thursday.
Apple in March announced a core technology fee (CTF) of 50 euro cents per user account per year for major app developers even if they do not use any of its payment services or its App Store, with the first 1 million user accounts exempted from the fee.
The CTF is part of a set of new charges linked to changes to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which requires Apple to open up its closed ecosystem by allowing apps developers to distribute their iPhone apps directly to consumers instead of through its App Store, among other obligations.
“This week, the European Commission designated iPadOS a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act. Apple will bring our recent iOS changes for apps in the European Union to iPadOS later this fall, as required,” the company said in a blogpost.
“The CTF will also apply to iPadOS apps downloaded through the App Store, Web Distribution, and/or alternative marketplaces,” it said.
The company also said small developers with less than 10 million euros ($10.7 million) in global annual business revenue will either pay no CTF or a capped CTF during a three-year period.
Developers with no revenues such as students, hobbyists, and developers who create a free app without monetization will not be charged the CTF.
Currently only developers whose apps do not surpass one million first annual installs per year, non-profit organizations, government entities and educational institutions approved for a fee waiver are exempted from the CTF.
($1 = 0.9360 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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