- Coalition for App Fairness aims to tackle monopolistic policies of Apple, Google
- CAF adds 20 new partners, including studios, startups, and third-party developers
- Apple and Google under criticism for their 30% commission on in-app purchases
- Apple has restricted many app developers citing policy violations
The recent clashes between Gateway companies and app developers have stirred a drive for fairness. The tech giants such as Google and Apple take a substantial 30% commission on all the in-app purchases. To tackle the monopolistic culture in digital markets, CAF was formed.
The CAF is an independent non-profit organization founded by industry-leading companies. It advocated freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem. Recently, it has announced the addition of 20 new partners.
The organization includes Epic Games, Deezer, Basecamp, Tile, and Spotify among others. It criticizes Apple and Google for their anti-competitive behavior. It imposes a 30% cut and requires publishers to use the platforms’ own payment system. But in some cases, Google and Apple are directly competing with similar apps thus having a monetary advantage over others.
Apple is specifically called out for its closed ecosystem. It is not allowing app publishers to address the iOS user base except through the App Store. Meanwhile, Google allows users to sideload apps on their Android devices.
The CAF was launched with 13 app publishers initially and has now more than doubled its members. Several hundred app developers are interested in joining the organization and CAF has been working on the applications to evaluate prospective members. These members represent a wide variety of app developers, extending from studios to startups.
Why was CAF founded?
The Coalition for App Fairness aims to create a level playing field for app businesses and provide freedom of choice to consumers, over their devices. The CAF wishes that every app developer should have an equal opportunity to innovate and engage in commerce. They should be free from draconian policies, unfair taxes, or monopolistic control. Since earlier it was only individual companies, they were not heeded to. But when such companies join forces and speak as one, Gatekeeper platforms have to listen to them.
Apple tends to use its policies to shape the apps it wants to host on the App store. But even after making changes to the apps in accordance with the rules many developers still couldn’t get their apps on the store. Under the ever-increasing regulatory scrutiny, Apple is reluctant to put the apps back on the Store.
Despite increased regulatory pressure and the antitrust investigations gaining traction, Apple and Google are still adamant. They have modified their app store rules recently to ensure their clarity over the right to collect in-app purchases from developers.