Apple calls UK CMA App Store proposal price regulation
Apple submitted a formal response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) consultation on proposed changes to the App Store. The company said the measures – which would require app developers to direct users to alternative payment options and impose “fair and reasonable” fees for such steering – amount to price regulation and would give the regulator a “highly intrusive” role in managing its business.
Apple highlighted that the App Store facilitated more than £46.5 billion ($61.8 billion) in UK billings and sales in 2025, with commissions representing less than 3.5 % of that total. It added that there is no evidence the proposed changes would lower consumer prices. The proposals are part of the CMA’s digital markets regime, which grants powers over firms designated with strategic market status; Apple and Google received that designation in 2025.
The Coalition for App Fairness, represented by policy counsel Gene Burrus, argued that Apple uses its dominant gatekeeper position to secure unfair competitive advantages. The CMA has closed the consultation and will consider the feedback before deciding on the final rules.
Entities: Apple Inc. · Coalition for App Fairness · Competition and Markets Authority · Gene Burrus · Google LLC · UK digital markets regime · United Kingdom
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 11 SOURCES] Apple submitted a formal response to the CMA’s App Store consultation. (Apple)
- [● 7 SOURCES] Gene Burrus said Apple uses its dominant gatekeeper position to secure unfair competitive advantages. (Gene Burrus, Coalition for App Fairness)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Apple states commissions accounted for less than 3.5 % of total UK App Store revenue in 2025. (Apple)
- [● 11 SOURCES] The CMA proposes allowing app developers to direct users to alternative payment options outside the App Store. (CMA)
- [● 11 SOURCES] The CMA’s consultation is part of the UK digital markets regime, granting the regulator powers over designated strategic market status firms. (CMA)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Apple and Google were designated as strategic market status firms under the UK digital markets regime in the previous year. (CMA)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Apple says the App Store facilitated more than £46.5 billion in UK billings and sales in 2025. (Apple)
- [● 11 SOURCES] Apple claims there is no evidence the proposed changes would lower consumer prices. (Apple)