Apple is pushing back against rising criticism of its App Store policies by arguing the platform creates jobs and generates revenue.
As Bloomberg News reported Wednesday (May 25), the tech giant is pointing a study by Analysis Group — a project commissioned by Apple — that showed that developers who made less than $1 million per year from the App Store saw their total revenue increase 113% over a two-year period beginning in 2019.
Read more: Apple Now Faces $55M in Fines From Dutch Regulators Over Dating App Payments
In the United States, that figure hit 118%, while it was lower in places like Japan and the U.K. The study also found that the App Store supports 2.2 million U.S. jobs and that upwards of 90% of developers are considered small businesses.
Apple in 2020 halved its commission for developers who generated less than $1 million in the previous calendar year, which Bloomberg noted could have contributed to the increase in revenue. The company typically charges a 30% fee, but developers who are enrolled in its small-business program pay 15%.
The App Store has come under scrutiny from the U.S. and a number of European governments as part of a larger crackdown on big tech companies. Europe’s Digital Markets Act, along with a pair of laws pending in the U.S., would have a major impact on Apple’s App Store rules.
Apple was fined $55 million in the Netherlands this year for failing to adhere to an order by the country’s antitrust watchdog to allow Dutch dating app providers to use non-Apple payment methods. The initial fine was much lower, but Dutch watchdog Authority for Consumers and Markets kept upping the penalty after Apple routinely failed to comply with its orders.
See also: Apple to App Developers: Update or Get Out
Last month, Apple warned it was going to remove apps and games from the App Store that had not been “updated in a significant amount of time,” giving the developers 30 days to bring their creations up to date.
“You can keep this app available for new users to discover and download from the App Store by submitting an update for review in 30 days,” Apple wrote in an email shared on Twitter. “If no update is submitted in 30 days, the app will be removed from sale.”
