Epic Games, Spotify Target Apple, App Store Fees In New Nonprofit ‘Coalition For App Fairness’

Epic Games, Spotify and a handful of others have launched The Coalition for App fairness, a nonprofit meant to ramp up pressure on Apple over App store charges, transparency and access.

Epic, the home of Fortnite, is currently in a legal tussle with Apple in the U.S. and Spotify is fighting them in the EU, targeting the 30% fee Apple charges developers for App Store transactions. The Washington, D.C.-based Coalition for App Fairness

Other Coalition members and funders include Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Protonmail, SkyDemon and Tile.

“CAF offers membership to companies of any size, in any industry who are committed to protecting consumer choice, fostering competition, and creating a level playing field for all app and game developers globally,” the Coalition new website said. If laid out a kind of Bill of Right for App Developer with ten principles.

The first: “No developer should be required to use an app store exclusively, or to use ancillary services of the app store owner, including payment systems, or to accept other supplementary obligations in order to have access to the app store.” The second: No developer should be blocked from the platform or discriminated against based on a developer’s business model, how it delivers content and services, or whether it competes in any way with the app store owner.”

They say a developer’s data should not be used to compete with the developer and that every developer should always have the right to communicate directly with its users through its app for legitimate business purposes. Also, it says, no app store owner should prohibit third parties from offering competing app stores on the app store owner’s platform, or discourage developers or consumers from using them.”

Epic brought the simmering issue into very public view over the summer when it developed a workaround — unauthorized by Apple — for game users to pay. It sued Apple in August after the Fortnite app was delisted, charging antirust violations. Apple countersued, seeking damages.

Apple reps weren’t immediately available to comment Thursday morning. But Apple has said that fees it collects from developers are in line with those charged by other digital platforms.

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