Under pressure from UK regulators, Apple and Google have reached an agreement to change how they operate their app stores in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Tuesday.

The agreement means both companies will not discriminate against apps that compete with their own apps and services. They pledged to be more transparent with the app approval process and not to discriminate against third-party apps in App Store search engines.

Both tech firms also committed not to use data derived from third-party apps to benefit their own apps and services. Apple also committed to providing developers with an easier system with which to request access to platform features such as NFC for payments or Live Translation support in their apps. These commitments aim to provide app developers with confidence that they will be treated fairly in the future.

What Apple said

In a statement provided to Computerworld, Apple said: “Apple faces fierce competition in every market where we operate, and we work tirelessly to create the best products, services and user experience. The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers. We appreciate the positive and ongoing dialogue with UK officials.”

Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the CMA, explained: “These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK, for example by enabling more choice and innovation in digital wallets, boosting the UK’s fintech sector and potentially supporting the roll out of digital IDs.”

Google said that while it believes its existing developer practices were already fair and transparent, “We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively.”

These promises follow a decision by the UK regulator to designate both US companies as holding Strategic Market Status (SMS) in the mobile market. That status means the CMA can force both to make changes to their business operations in favor of more open competition. But the regulator also committed to reaching negotiated compromises around enforcement, which is what has taken place here. 

A pragmatic, rather than dogmatic, regulatory approach

What is interesting is the enormous difference in how regulators in the UK approached the problem. Unlike regulators in the EU, the UK regulator engaged in extensive discussion to identify and pragmatically achieve a better balance that meets the needs of markets, developers, customers, and Apple. 

The CMA is still considering its approach to the fees Apple charges developers for access to its platforms, ecosystem, customer base, operating systems, developer tools, and App Stores. 

This contrasts dramatically with a far more dogmatic approach taken by European regulators, who in a triumph of ideological hubris and technological idiocy have taken unto themselves the power to dictate platform design choices no one wanted, generating huge privacy and security risks to Apple and its customers.

From here, the UK approach seems much closer to that taken by regulators in Japan under the Mobile Software Competition Act, and those in Brazil in line with demands from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense. In all three cases, a more constructive dialogue between Apple and regulators seems to have reached a better balance around competitive need, while also showing it is possible to adopt a pragmatic, measured approach. 

In all three cases, it has been proved that the opportunity to take a regulatory approach that balances the privacy, security, and safety of all the stakeholders against the need to maintain competitive markets exists. It’s only in Europe where the regulatory outcomes seem almost completely aligned against the interests of all parties — except Apple’s competitors.

Why it matters

Also unlike Europe, the CMA seems far happier to recognize the vast importance of the app market to the overall UK economy, conceding it generates an estimated 1.5% of UK GDP. Since the App Store launched in 2008, UK developers have earned nearly £9 billion from selling digital goods and services, while Apple also supports more than 550,000 UK jobs. 

While these agreements are at present voluntary, the CMS does have the power to enforce change if Apple or Google fail to keep to their commitments. At the same time, it could easily be argued that Apple does much of this already; it has always claimed to operate a fair and objective app review process and says its App Store search tools don’t self-preference its own apps. The company will also continue to respect data privacy, including safeguarding data developers may provide for app review. The one big change might be in opening up more of its platforms to developers for use in their own products and services.

To remain compliant, Apple will also introduce new mechanisms to monitor the delivery of these commitments.

This is not the end of the story, as the CMA is also engaged in other work around the regulation of Apple. The regulator expects to announce agreements on steering and digital wallets for Apple in the first half of 2026, and to “progress work in relation to Apple on browsers, and interoperable access to functionality for connected devices, as well as continuing to closely monitor developments in relation to mobile platforms, particularly the emergence and adoption of AI,” wrote Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA.

Next steps

The CMA is now seeking feedback on the agreements with the big tech firms, with views offered up by March 3. It is likely that at least some competitors will turn to the feedback process to try to force further change from Apple and Google, but the CMA otherwise anticipates these new commitments will take effect on Apple’s 50th anniversary, April 1, 2026.

While I doubt this will form much of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s birthday reflection message that day, it’s funny to consider the extent to which the existence and implementation of regulations against the company reflects just how far Apple has come since the Apple-1 was but a glimmer in the eye of Steves Wozniak and Job.

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