China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is expected to begin a full-scale antitrust investigation on Apple’s App Store. The measure is expected in response to the recent trade tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the United States.
The upcoming probe is expected to target the App Store’s 30% commission on in-app purchases. In addition, SAMR will review Apple’s policy of restricting third-party payment systems and alternative app stores from its platform. Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDance have been critical of Apple’s App Store policies for several years, which they claim have hindered local competition and consumers.
The Chinese regulator has not yet confirmed its probe on Apple, but it recently launched a full-scale anti-monopoly trust case against Google. A similar probe against Nvidia began in December.
Source (paywall)
