Inputs by Amey Haldankar
Delhi, Sep 1: On Tuesday, South Korea amended the Telecommunications Business Act.
With this Amendment, South Korea became the first country to ban Apple and Google from forcing people and app developers from using their in-app payment systems.
The final step of the law-making process is the signature of the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-In. Once he signs, the law will become final.
What does this mean? Payment Gateway?
Suppose you buy an app on the Google Play store or the Apple App store. Or, suppose you install a free app but buy something from within that app (this is called in-app purchases). 30% of that money goes directly to Google/Apple. Developers cannot use any other payment service. They have to use the payment service offered by Google/ Apple. Since these two companies rule the mobile operating system market (there is no other major competition), this is a case of a duopoly (duo- two, poly-rule. Duopoly means rule by two entities)
More About the Law
With this law, developers can use another payment gateway that charges less. Let’s take a reference. Most payment gateways charge between 2-8% for processing the payment. That is the difference.
Response of Google and Apple
According to Google, their service helps keep Android free and enables app developers to have the tools and a global platform to access billions of consumers around the world.
“We’ll reflect on how to comply with this law while maintaining a model that supports a high-quality operating system and app store, and we will share more in the coming weeks.” A Google spokesperson added.
An Apple spokesperson stated,” It will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases, and features like ‘Ask to Buy’ and Parental Controls will become less effective.”
