South Korea Passes Law Requiring Apple and Google to Accept Third-Party Payments

In a move that will likely affect the gaming industry, South Korea has passed a law requiring Apple and Google to accept third-party payments. The law is expected to be implemented in 2019.

The map of south korea is a law passed by the government in South Korea. It requires Apple and Google to accept third-party payments.

Images courtesy of Google and Apple

The fight over third-party or in-app payments has heated up. South Korea has approved legislation requiring Apple and Google to accept other payment methods or face penalties.

It modifies the country’s Telecommunications Business Act to make it illegal for operators to force customers to buy from their own shops. The legislation also prohibits operators from retaliating against app creators (e.g., deleting their apps or their approval). The country’s media regulator would impose penalties of 3% of their South Korean income on violators. President Moon Jae-in will sign the bill.

Both businesses have been involved in legal disputes with Epic Games Store over their rules, which have been dubbed anti-competitive by critics. In the EU and the US, legislators and authorities are looking at these practices more closely. Each may be keeping an eye on the new law’s development as a model for future legislation.

Image courtesy of American University

The legislation modifies the Telecommunications Business Act of South Korea to prohibit major app-market operators from mandating the usage of their in-app buying systems. It also prohibits operators from arbitrarily delaying app approval or removing applications from the marketplace—provisions aimed at preventing retribution against app developers.

The Wall Street Journal is the source for this information (via Engadget)