In a note to developers last night, Apple confirmed it had updated its App Store guidelines for its US storefront after a scathing court ruling on Wednesday.
After a federal judge in California on Wednesday (30 April) referred Apple for possible criminal prosecution for failure to comply with a 2021 ruling saying it must open its App Store fully for third-party payments, Apple has indeed made those updates, although it says it will appeal the ruling.
Spotify was all ready to go with a new version of its app, and submitted the update to the App Store yesterday, it said.
“The App Review Guidelines have been updated for compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links and other calls to action in apps,” Apple said in an email to developers last night, according to 9to5Mac.
“These changes affect apps distributed on the United States storefront of the App Store.”
According to the new App Store rules, “there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links or other calls to action”.
Earlier this week, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed Apple a heavy rebuke, in a case that was taken by Fortnite developer, Epic Games, over an allegation that the tech giant had failed to comply with an earlier court order by the same judge back in 2021.
In her decision, Gonzalez Rogers said Apple had defied her judgement that it must open up its App Store to third-party payment options and cease charging commissions on purchases made outside its software marketplace, in violation of Californian law. Gonzalez did not hold back in her anger at Apple.
As app developers rush to adapt, music streaming giant Spotify seems to have been first off the mark, submitting an updated version of its app that has changes that include links to external payments.
“Apple will now have to stop restricting developers’ ability to communicate with their customers free of charge,” read a statement from Spotify. “While other governments around the world have taken against Apple’s harmful practices, this is, by far, the most consequential action to date – and it delivers the benefits that all consumers deserve around the world.”
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