Report: Apple Reorganizing App Store in Response to Global Regulations
The Apple vice president who has run the App Store since 2010, Matt Fischer, will reportedly leave the company in October amid its reorganization.
Fischer is making this move as part of a reorganization that is being made in response to changing global regulations, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Aug. 21), citing unnamed sources.
Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
In the company’s reorganization, the App Store is being divided into two teams, according to the report. One team, which will be led by senior director Carson Oliver, will oversee Apple’s own App Store. The other team, which will be led by director Ann Thai, will focus on alternative app distribution.
“This has been on my mind for some time, and as we are reorganizing the team to better manage new challenges and opportunities, now is the right moment to pass the baton to two outstanding leaders on my team,” Fischer said in a Wednesday email to his team, according to the report.
Apple has been facing demands from global regulators to allow alternative app stores and payment methods on the iPhone, the report said.
New legislation in Europe has redrawn the competitive map and given Epic’s challenge to Apple’s App Store practices a beachhead in that market, PYMNTS reported Friday (Aug. 16). That battle is being actively joined in Europe, with the players fighting over the same concerns about app store creations, in-app payments and commissions that have been raised in the United States.
In addition, Spotify said Aug. 14 in an updated blog post that it has gained Apple’s approval to show European Union users pricing information in its iOS app. Spotify said in the post that it is opting into Apple’s “entitlement” for music streaming services, created following the European Commission’s landmark antitrust ruling against the tech giant in March.
On Aug. 8, Apple said in an announcement that it is changing its Digital Markets Act compliance plan in response to the European Commission’s accusation that the company is stifling competition on its App Store. One of the key changes is that developers can promote offers for purchases available at a destination of their choice, including another app marketplace, app or website.
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