Apple has changed its European App Store policies in response to the Digital Markets Act, in hopes the move will help ward off a potential fine of up to $585 million for violating the 2022 law in the way it charges commissions from third-party developers selling apps through links in the App Store. The European Union threatens fines of up to $60 million per day for DMA violations. A European Commission spokesperson said the body is assessing whether Apple’s new terms bring the company into compliance. The Commission is requiring the company “to make a series of additional changes to the App Store,” explains Apple, adding that “we disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal.”

“The changes Apple announced are not a complete departure from the company’s previous policy that drew the European Commission’s attention in the first place,” writes CNBC, noting that Apple’s intended remedy was to introduce a “‘core technology commission’ of 5 percent on all digital purchases made outside the App Store.”

The new Apple policies are describe by CNBC as “a complicated system of fees and programs for app makers, with some developers now paying three separate fees for one download.”

Under the changes Apple has already made, EU app developers “have more ways to promote alternative payment options, including other websites, apps and app stores,” reports Bloomberg, noting “they are also no longer required to follow Apple’s specific instructions on the language used in the promotions.”

Bloomberg writes that “the iPhone maker’s proposal is designed to make it cheaper and less onerous for third-party developers to direct customers away from the Apple ecosystem to make payments elsewhere.”

Apple’s concession follows “weeks of fraught discussions with EU regulators, is an attempt to dodge future penalties” for failing to address alleged DMA violations, which led to a fine levied in April.

“Today, we’re introducing updated terms that let developers with apps in the European Union storefronts of the App Store communicate and promote offers for purchase of digital goods or services available at a destination of their choice,” Apple wrote in a news post last week.

Earlier last month, Apple wrote that its global App Store helped to generate $1.3 trillion in billings and sales for developers in 2024.