Big companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook have been
known to adopt anti-competitive practices to maintain their dominance on the
market.
A recent case that came forward is Apple violating its own
App Store’s rules for its News+ app. For starters, let’s look at the rules:
- The developer should clearly state how long will the trial last as well as the price that will be billed.
- The users should be notified that the subscription fee will be automatically deducted from the provided account.
- The amount that will be deducted should be written clearly.
- The user should be given links to support and privacy policy.
According to Apple’s guidelines, the above rules (which are a
fraction of iOS application development rules) make sure the buyer is not
misled.
Now let’s look at the sign-up page of Apple new+ application.
When the “try it free” button is
clicked, the user is directly taken to the billing page without getting
notified about the subscription charges. An iOS developer, Dave DeLong brought
this to light and criticized Apple for breaking its own rules. If it was any
other iOS developer, their application would have been rejected then and there.
Moreover, the page does not link to
a privacy policy and support link either.
This is not the first time Apple
was found to be breaking its own rules. It has already done this with Apple
Music when it was launched, based on which Spotify filed a complaint, calling
out the anti-competitive practices that Apple adopts.
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