South Korea Will Investigate Google, Apple Over In-App Payments (Again)
South Korea will once again investigate Google and Apple over their in-app payment policies.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) says(Opens in a new window) it's launching an investigation into the companies—as well as the One Store marketplace that recently expanded(Opens in a new window) beyond South Korea—to "identify violations of prohibited acts by app market operators" within the country.
South Korea passed a bill requiring app store operators to allow developers on their platforms to implement alternative payment solutions in September 2021. That way Google, Apple, and other companies wouldn't be able to claim a sizable portion of mobile revenues for themselves.
The bill didn't just make it so app developers could use third-party payment services; it also prohibited Google, Apple, and other companies from retaliating against devs who chose to take advantage of this freedom. That's what KCC says it plans to focus on with this investigation.
The commission wants to determine if app store operators have intentionally made it difficult for developers to implement alternative payment solutions in their apps or made it so those apps take longer to make their way through the approval process than their counterparts.
"Strict measures such as correction orders or fines will be imposed" if its investigation reveals that Google, Apple, or One Store violated South Korean policies, the KCC says. Neither Apple nor Google immediately responded to requests for comment.
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