Yesterday, China announced an investigation into Google over alleged anti-competitive practices. Today, a report emerged that Apple will also be investigated by China's State Administration for Market Regulation for its practice of taking a 30% cut of app fees on the App Store and blocking third-party payments outside the Apple ecosystem.
This is seen as another retaliation by China to the additional 10% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump shortly after taking office two weeks ago. The investigation will be conducted to see whether Apple's practice of taking a 30% cut is fair to local app developers.
The investigation is similar to the investigations that the Japanese, South Korean and European Union (EU) governments have previously conducted against Apple. In the EU, to comply with the requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple allows third-party stores with payment options outside the ecosystem