Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan ‘confusing’, ‘illegal’ and ‘unacceptable’

Spotify and Epic Games are among Apple’s critics who are unhappy with the iPhone maker’s revised compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the updated version on Tuesday, which includes relaxed restrictions as well as the addition of two additional fees, Spotify shared a statement with TechCrunch calling the plan “unacceptable” and saying Apple was once again failing to meet “fundamental requirements” of the DMA. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, meanwhile, called the revisions another case of “malicious compliance” involving “unnecessary fees.”

The European Commission had already determined that Apple’s first attempt to comply with the DMA had failed and was investigating the new fee structure proposed under Apple’s DMA rules, which included a new core technology fee for the privilege of using Apple’s technology to create mobile apps.

Under Apple’s new policy, proposed today, developers who want to link to their websites from their iOS apps are no longer required to agree to Apple’s DMA rules in order to do so. But those developers will still have to pay Apple, even though they no longer face the basic technology fees that come with Apple’s new DMA rules. Instead, Apple has added two new fees: an “upfront acquisition fee” and an “App Store services fee.” The former is a sort of commission for connecting users to the app through the App Store that applies for the first 12 months, while the latter helps fund Apple’s App Store operations. It’s billed on a fixed 12-month basis, meaning it would apply to users who continue to make new purchases of digital goods and services through the app.

Both of these fees also apply to developers who agree to Apple’s new DMA terms, adding new fees on top of the base technology fee for app installs.

The changes are confusing, so much so that even Spotify isn’t quite sure what to make of them yet, according to its statement.

However, the company still condemned the revisions based on its current understanding of how the new policy works:

“We are currently reviewing Apple’s deliberately confusing proposal,” the company’s statement read. “On its face, by charging fees of up to 25% for basic communication with users, Apple is once again failing to meet the fundamental requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring fees on basic elements such as pricing and matchmaking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines, and enforce the DMA.”

Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite and an Apple critic who has sued app stores over antitrust concerns, also called the new revisions illegal.

CEO Tim Sweeney wrote in an article on X: “In the European Union, where the new DMA law opens up competition between app stores, Apple is continuing its malicious compliance by imposing a new illegal 15% tax on users who migrate to competing stores and by monitoring commerce on those competing stores,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether the EU will accept Apple’s proposed changes.