The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured a set of commitments from Apple and Google aimed at making app store processes fairer and more transparent for developers. The move follows the CMA’s decision last year to designate both companies’ mobile platforms as having “strategic market status,” giving the regulator new powers to address competition concerns in the smartphone ecosystem.
Under the agreements announced on February 10, Apple and Google pledged that they will:
- Conduct app review and ranking processes in a fair, objective, and transparent manner, without discriminating against apps that compete with their own products.
- Safeguard developer data collected during app review and not use it in ways that could unfairly advantage their own services.
- Improve transparency around how reviews, approvals, rejections, and complaints are handled.
- In Apple’s case, make it easier for developers to request interoperable access to certain iOS and iPadOS features and functionality, with requests to be considered fairly and objectively.
The commitments are currently subject to a public consultation that runs through March 3, with implementation expected to begin on April 1. The CMA said it will monitor compliance closely, including by collecting and publishing data on review outcomes, timelines, complaints, and interoperability requests.
Apple and Google said they welcome the agreement and will work with the CMA on implementation. The CMA has made clear that if the companies fail to follow through on their promises, it reserves the right to impose formal conduct requirements under UK competition law.
Critics, including some competition lawyers and developer groups, have described the voluntary commitments as limited and lacking legally binding force, arguing that further steps may be needed to address broader concerns about platform dominance and fees.