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Apple tells UK watchdog App Store rules would be price regulation
Apple said the UK App Store handled more than £46.5 billion in 2025 billings, while the CMA said steering-fee principles are meant to ensure fees are fair and reasonable, not to set prices.
Apple argued that proposed UK rules for App Store payments would amount to price regulation, warning that loosening its control over in-app payments could weaken innovation and investment, according to Yahoo Finance citing a Reuters story.
In a submission to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, Apple said the CMA’s proposed “steering” requirements would give the regulator a “highly intrusive” role in managing its business. The CMA consultation, which closed on Monday, would allow app developers to direct users to payment options outside Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, and would require any fees for such steering to be “fair and reasonable.”
A CMA spokesperson rejected Apple’s characterization, saying the consultation proposes principles to ensure steering fees are fair and reasonable rather than directly setting prices. The watchdog said it would expect steering fees to be lower than current app store charges, with savings passed on to UK customers or reinvested into developers’ businesses, while also assessing feedback before making a final decision.
Apple also said the App Store facilitated more than £46.5 billion in UK billings and sales in 2025, with commissions accounting for less than 3.5% of the total, and it argued there was no evidence that changes to its payment model would lower consumer prices. The consultation is part of Britain’s new digital markets regime, under which the CMA can impose tailored requirements on firms designated as having “strategic market status.”