Apple today updated its plan to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Union, making changes related to external links. Developers can now direct users to purchase options outside the App Store for in-app content, such as subscriptions, without restrictions or control over messaging to customers.

Apple made the update to comply with the European Commission’s objection to its anti-steering rules, but it comes with a new fee structure that is complicated and not easy to digest. Shortly after Apple announced its new terms, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to social media to call Apple’s commission an “illegal new 15% junk fee.” He went on to say that the terms make it “completely uneconomical for developers to distribute their apps through both the Apple App Store and competing iOS app stores.”

Sweeney has been outspoken about Apple’s changes to the Digital Markets Act since the first updates were introduced in February and has long accused Apple of malicious compliance.

Spotify also had nothing good to say about the updated link rules. In a statement to TechCrunchSpotify said the changes were “intentionally confusing,” but “at first glance” Apple continues to “blatantly” disregard the DMA’s requirements.

We are currently reviewing Apple’s deliberately confusing proposal. On its face, Apple once again blatantly disregards the basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by charging a fee of up to 25% for basic communications with users. The European Commission has made it clear that charging recurring fees for basic elements such as pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to speed up its investigation, impose daily fines and enforce the DMA.

According to Apple, the new initial acquisition fee that developers using links must pay reflects the value the App Store provides in connecting developers with customers in the EU. The second store service fee reflects the ongoing services and features Apple provides to developers, such as app distribution, trust and security on the App Store, promotional tools, fraud protection checks, and more.

EU developers who direct customers to purchase options outside the App Store via links will pay between 10 and 27 percent commission, depending on the App Store terms they have agreed to and whether they participate in the App Store Small Business Program. Developers who operate under the new DMA terms and conditions, support alternative payment methods, and distribute apps outside the App Store will also have to pay the Core Technology Fee in addition to the Store Service Fee and the initial acquisition fee.

The 10 to 27 percent commission for developers who take on the linking out is lower than the 15 to 30 percent commission required before the DMA changes, but Epic Games and Spotify believe Apple’s fees are unfair. Because Epic Games and Spotify are large companies, they would have to pay Apple’s Core Technology Fee of €0.50, which would cost tens of thousands of euros per month.

‌Epic Games‌ plans to open an Epic Games Store for iPhone and iPad in the European Union, and Sweeney said today that plan remains on track. The store is set to launch on January 1.
“soon,” and ‌Epic Games‌ will charge developers 12 percent for payments it processes and 0 percent for third-party payments.

Earlier this year, the European Commission fined Apple $1.95 billion for not allowing streaming music apps like Spotify to communicate cheaper subscription prices to their users outside of the app. In response, Apple created a Music Streaming Services Entitlement that requires Spotify to pay a 27 percent commission on website purchases made through the ‌App Store‌. The fee for the new Link Entitlement is the same for an app of Spotify’s size.