Apple says UK App Store proposal amounts to price regulation

• Apple argues that proposed UK rules for its App Store would amount to price regulation.
• The company submitted its concerns to Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
• The proposed measures would allow app developers to direct users to payment options outside Apple's App Store.
• Apple stated the App Store facilitated over £46.5 billion in UK billings and sales in 2025.
• The Coalition for App Fairness criticized Apple's arguments, citing developer barriers.

Apple has informed Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that proposed rules for its App Store would constitute price regulation, potentially hindering innovation and investment. The iPhone maker submitted its objections as the CMA's consultation on boosting competition and consumer choice concluded.

The proposed measures would permit app developers to guide users toward payment methods outside of Apple's and Google's app stores, with any fees for such "steering" required to be fair and reasonable. Apple countered that the App Store facilitated over £46.5 billion ($61.8 billion) in UK sales in 2025, with commissions representing less than 3.5% of that total. The company argued that there is no evidence that changes to its payment model would result in lower consumer prices.

In its submission, Apple stated that the CMA's proposed regulations would not only control Apple's prices but also restrict the products and services for which it can charge a commission. Gene Burrus, global policy counsel for the Coalition for App Fairness, criticized Apple's stance, asserting that the company leverages its dominant platform position to gain unfair advantages and overlooks the barriers developers face.

Apple has previously contended that developers already have alternative methods for user transactions. The CMA's consultation is part of the UK's new digital markets regime, which empowers the watchdog to impose specific requirements on companies designated as having "strategic market status," a designation that both Apple and Google received last year.