South Korea cracks down on Google and Apple, threatening IDR 790 billion fine for app marketing

TIME.CO, Jakarta – South Korea’s telecommunications regulator said on Friday Google and Apple (AAPL.O) owned by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) have abused their dominant position in the applications market and warned of possible fines of up to $50.5 million or around IDR 790 billion.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said in a statement that the two tech giants forced app developers to use certain payment methods and caused unfair delays in app reviews.

The KCC has notified the companies to take corrective action and will consider sanctions, the statement said.

“What the KCC shared today is an ‘initial notice’ and we will carefully review and communicate our response. Once the final written decision is shared with us, we will review it carefully to evaluate our next course of action,” Google said in a note. declaration. he told Reuters.

Apple also released a statement saying, “We disagree with the conclusions made by the KCC in their examiner report and believe that the changes we have implemented on the App Store comply with the Telecommunications Business Act. As always, We will continue to engage with KCC to share our insights.”

In 2021, South Korea passed an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act that prohibits app store operators from forcing software developers to use their payment systems.

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The KCC said Google and Apple’s application of certain payment methods and Apple’s “discriminatory charging of fees to domestic app developers” would likely undermine the law’s goal of promoting fair competition.

After hearing from the companies, regulators may decide to impose fines of up to 68 billion won ($50.47 million), including 47.5 billion won for Google and 20.5 billion won for AppleKCC said.

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