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AFP’s Seoul Telegraph stated that the South Korean National Assembly passed an amendment on Tuesday to prohibit Apple and Google from compelling App developers to use the payment systems of the two major technology giants. This is actually equivalent to declaring their App Store and Play Store monopolies. The behavior is illegal. On the same day, under China’s official anti-monopoly pressure, Tencent announced that it would abandon the exclusive copyright of songs by artists including Jay Chou in China.
It is reported that the South Korean National Assembly voted on the amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act and passed the amendments with overwhelming support, making South Korea the first major economy to pass such legislation, which may set a precedent for other jurisdictions around the world. This bill will take effect after South Korean President Moon Jae-in signs it.
Three U.S. senators also pushed for a bill this month to loosen Apple and Google’s control of their App Store. European lawmakers are debating legislation to allow Apple to allow alternative options in the App Store.
Apple and Google charge developers 30% commissions, while those who earn millions of dollars a year receive 15% commissions. Commissions lead to a corresponding increase in the price of digital products in the app. In addition to commissions, Apple and Google also forced the use of internal payment systems to collect a portion of the transaction fees, which incurred global criticism.
This South Korean legislation is known locally as the “Anti-Google Law,” which will allow users to bypass the charging methods set by app store owners and choose app payment service providers on their own.
Kang Ki-hwan (transliteration) of the Korea Mobile Network Business Association told AFP: “This law will definitely set a precedent for application developers and content creators in other countries as well as around the world.”
According to Agence France-Presse, Google plans to target in-app purchases (In-App Purchase) later this year, requiring global developers to compulsorily use the Google Play payment system. The Google payment system will be charged when the system exceeds a certain threshold. 30% commission.
In South Korea, Google also plans to charge commissions for all content payments from October, ending the original practice of only charging commissions for online games. This aroused the anger of Korean artists and creators. Internet novelists and cartoonists accused Google of “abusing power” and lobbied forcefully for the new law.
However, Apple and Google insisted on their stance that charging commissions is a standard practice in the industry, and it is also a fair compensation for them to establish a secure market and allow developers to contact the world.
Before the debate in South Korea’s parliament, Apple told AFP that the new law will expose digital content buyers to the risk of fraud, privacy rights may not be protected, and at the same time weaken the effectiveness of the parental protection model.
Google Korea did not respond to Agence France-Presse’s request for comment.
These two technology giants dominate the Korean App market. According to data from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Play Store set a turnover of nearly 6 trillion won (approximately US$5.2 billion) in 2019, accounting for 63% of Korea as a whole. App Store’s market share during the same period was 24.4%.
Under official antitrust pressureTencent abandons exclusive rights to music
At the same time, music platforms have also become the target of China’s “anti-monopoly” supervision. Chinese officials announced at the end of July that they would punish Tencent Music’s monopoly, and Tencent announced on Tuesday night that it would abandon the exclusive rights to songs of artists including Jay Chou in China.
Tencent announced on the evening of August 31 that most of the exclusive agreements with upstream copyright parties have been terminated on time; if the contract is not terminated on time, it will declare that it waives the relevant exclusive authorization rights, which means that the upstream copyright party can authorize other operators by itself, and Tencent will not pursue related responsibilities. .
According to Lu Media Daily Economic News, Tencent Music previously obtained exclusive rights to the three major record companies, Universal, Sony, and Warner in China. Song versions of artists including Jay Chou belong to Tencent.
The State Administration for Market Regulation of China initiated an investigation into Tencent’s illegal implementation of “concentration of operators” in January, and imposed penalties on Tencent on July 24, requiring Tencent and related companies to lift exclusive music rights and stop high prepayments and other copyrights within 30 days How to pay fees, etc.
At that time, officials said that this was the first time necessary measures were taken against offenders after the implementation of the “Anti-Monopoly Law” to “restore market competition.”
In this regard, the Central News Agency pointed out that China has strengthened its “anti-monopoly” measures against Internet companies this year. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping presided over the meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensive Deepening Reform on August 30, and mentioned that the government has intensified anti-monopoly supervision in response to the barbaric growth and disorderly expansion of some platform companies, and investigated and punished corporate monopoly and unfair competition. “Preventing the disorderly expansion of capital has achieved initial results, and the market’s fair competition order is steadily improving.”
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