This week, the European Union adopted a new regulation adopted, which offers developers more protection and transparency in the App Store.
The platforms MCV/Develop and GamesIndustry.biz report that a new EU regulation ensures more protection and transparency in app stores - the beneficiaries are developers and app providers. The regulations are of course only valid within Europe. As developer Steven Troughton-Smith noted, one of the new requirements is that operators of app distribution platforms, such as Apple, must notify developers at least 30 days in advance that their application will be removed from the App Store. Of course, there are exceptions to this. If illegal or inappropriate content, security concerns, counterfeits, fraud, malware, spam or similar are discovered in apps, they can be removed from the App Store immediately. In addition, there are now further protective measures for developers.
Apple has already given in and made changes
These include transparency about:
- how rankings and trending lists are created,
- mandatory disclosures by platform operators about preferential treatment of certain developers or publishers
- and access to third-party arbitration for any disputes that cannot be resolved through the normal app review process.
After Apple was criticized for its controversial App Store practices in the crosshairs the EU Commission, this new EU regulation can be seen as a first measure. Since there is currently an antitrust investigation against Apple, further measures within the EU cannot be ruled out in the future. But Apple has also already given in with regard to app reviews. This means that developers can not only challenge decisions on whether an application violates Apple's review guidelines, but also the guidelines themselves. In addition, the company will no longer use its own guidelines to delay updates that are intended to fix bugs. (Photo by Anton_Medvedev / Bigstockphoto)
