Apple agrees to give some App Store developers more control over customer relationships

Apple announced a new concession for some App developers, giving apps such as Netflix and online publishers the ability to provide links to outside sign-up pages.  Apple’s App Store rules currently prohibit all developers from notifying their customers about alternative payment options where Apple cannot collect a sales commission. The new rules will only apply to sharing links within “reader apps” that provide previously purchased content or subscriptions for content such as newspapers, books, music and video. The move, a concession to end a probe by the Japan Fair Trade Commission, is the latest sign that a global wave of investigations, litigation and legislation related to Apple’s allegedly anticompetitive behavior is beginning to chip away at some of the company’s long-held and lucrative business policies. The changes go into effect in early 2022.