Google adjusts Google Play terms in response to EU influence
In a bid to address breach charges and comply with the European Union's (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has announced updates to its External Offers Program. The changes aim to provide more freedom to developers in promoting offers outside Google Play within the European Economic Area (EEA).
The revised program allows developers to lead users outside their app to promote deals, including links to download their own external apps or purchase offers elsewhere. This expansion goes beyond the previous limitations, which only permitted communication about external offers [1][3].
Google has also introduced a new, tiered fee system to balance compliance and platform support. Developers will now pay a 5% initial acquisition fee for auto-renewing subscriptions and 10% for other in-app offers, capped at two years. After this period, an ongoing services fee of 7% for subscriptions and 17% for other offers will apply, with an opt-out option after two years with user approval [2].
These fees are lower compared to Google Play’s standard 15-30% fees for developers not using external billing, providing an incentive for developers to participate in the External Offers Program [2].
In terms of user safety and transparency, developers are required to alert users about potential security risks when users leave the app for external purchases. Google maintains controls to prevent misleading or unsafe practices and preserves trust elements such as app review, malware scanning, and discovery tools through tiered service levels (Tier 1 and Tier 2) for apps in the program [2][3].
Developers can also select between Google’s billing system, alternative billing, or a mix (User Choice Billing or alternative-only billing), providing greater flexibility and compliance with the DMA mandate for non-discriminatory access to billing methods [2].
The updates come after EU regulators issued warnings to avoid penalties, reflecting a response to antitrust scrutiny under the DMA. The changes aim to both comply with EU rules and address concerns about user experience and security risks caused by opening external purchase options [1][2][4].
However, it appears that the changes in Google's External Offers Program do not address the concerns raised by the European Commission about potentially restricting app developers from informing users about offers outside Google Play [1][2].
Google, which has been fined more than 8 billion euros ($9.3 billion) by the EU for various antitrust violations, risks fines of up to 10 per cent of its global annual sales if found guilty of breaching the DMA [5]. The investigation into Google's practices began in early 2024 [6].
Sources: [1] https://www.reuters.com/world/google-updates-app-store-rules-allow-european-developers-direct-users-rival-services-2021-06-16/ [2] https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/16/22541761/google-play-store-new-rules-europe-external-offers-program-developers [3] https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/google-updates-app-store-rules-to-allow-developers-to-promote-rivals [4] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/16/google-app-store-changes-europe-eu-commission-antitrust [5] https://www.reuters.com/world/google-faces-two-eu-charges-breaching-digital-markets-act-2021-06-15/ [6] https://www.reuters.com/world/google-faces-two-eu-charges-breaching-digital-markets-act-2021-06-15/
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