According to a press release, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney will speak next week at a conference held in South Korea. He will discuss fairness and mobile app ecosystems during the ongoing tension between his company and Apple.
Sweeney will join other members and representatives from the "Coalition for App Fairness," which is a group that advocates against Apple's "anticompetitive App Store rules." The "Global Conference on Mobile App Ecosystem Fairness" will be held in Seoul, South Korea on Monday, November 15.
Recent legislation in South Korea could fundamentally change the App Store. In August, South Korea passed legislation that prohibited Apple and other owners of mobile apps distribution platforms from requiring developers to use their payment method. This would mean that Apple wouldn't require developers to use its in app purchase system.
Apple claims that the new changes would increase user risk and decrease trust in apps' purchases. It also makes it more difficult for certain features to be implemented, such as parental controls.
Telecommunications Business Act will make users who buy digital goods from other sources vulnerable to fraud. It will also weaken their privacy protections and make it more difficult to manage their purchases. Features like "Ask to Buy", and Parental Controls may become less effective. This legislation will reduce trust among App Store buyers, according to our estimates. It will also make it harder for over 482,000 Korean developers who have been able to earn more than KRW8.55 billion with Apple.
Epic Games asked Apple to restore Fortnite in South Korea after the bill was passed. Epic Games implemented direct-payment methods for in-app purchases in August 2020, which was clearly in violation of Apple's AppStore rules. Fortnite was then removed from the Appstore in August 2020. South Korea's new law is still in effect. Apple has stated that Epic does not have to restore the developer account it terminated before it became law.
