Google, Apple stare at over $50 mn fine for in-app billing irregularities

South Korea's telecommunications regulator said on Friday it seeks to slap up to 68 billion won ($50.42 million) in combined fines against Google and Apple for their violation of the country's in-app payment laws.

In August 2022, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) launched a probe into Google Play and App Store for their enforcement of certain in-app payment methods and other irregularities against app developers, reports Yonhap news agency.

Wrapping up the probe, the commission decided to impose a fine of 47.5 billion won on Google and 20.5 billion won on Apple based on the judgment that they violated the country's revised Telecommunications Business Act by abusing their monopoly power to force local publishers to use their in-app billing system and unfairly postponing due evaluation of apps.

The commission also found that Apple's policy imposing fees for domestic app developers constitutes a discriminatory act.

The KCC called on the two companies to implement corrective measures, saying that their practices are a "grave issue" as it could highly likely hamper fair market competition.

The commission plans to finalise the fine after listening to the opinions of the companies and going through due deliberation procedures.

Last year, the National Assembly passed a law that bans app store operators from forcing in-app payment systems on developers, making South Korea the first country in the world to introduce such curbs on in-app billing policies of Apple and Google.