5 ms·

It's very likely that EU laws will not allow this type of tax anyway. EU is specifically drafting legislation for gatekeepers in Digital Markets Law. https://

It's very likely that EU laws will not allow this type of tax anyway. EU is specifically drafting legislation for gatekeepers in Digital Markets Law. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?qid=1608116887159&uri=COM%3A2020%3A842%3AFIN https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?qid=16081168... Gatekeepers like Apple will have specific obligation according to Article 5: (b) allow business users to offer the same products or services to end users through third party online intermediation services at prices or conditions that are different from those offered through the online intermediation services of the gatekeeper; (c) allow business users to promote offers to end users acquired via the core platform service, and to conclude contracts with these end users regardless of whether for that purpose they use the core platform services of the gatekeeper or not, and allow end users to access and use, through the core platform services of the gatekeeper, content, subscriptions, features or other items by using the software application of a business user, where these items have been acquired by the end users from the relevant business user without using the core platform services of the gatekeeper; And Article 6: (c) allow the installation and effective use of third party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, operating systems of that gatekeeper and allow these software applications or software application stores to be accessed by means other than the core platform services of that gatekeeper. The gatekeeper shall not be prevented from taking proportionate measures to ensure that third party software applications or software application stores do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper; (k) apply fair and non-discriminatory general conditions of access for business users to its software application store designated pursuant to Article 3 of this Regulation.

neximo64 5y ago
None of these stop the % commission they merely say it has to be applied fairy and equally. The fees aren't a gatekeep since everyone has the same treatment and no one is being 'gatekept'
- Jensson 5y ago
  EU already forced visa and mastercard to lower their fees, this is exactly the same kind of scenario. EU doesn't tolerate giant companies making themselves into a bottleneck so they can extract more money from the economy.
- Isinlor 5y ago
  The law will require to allow third-party app stores. If Apple decides to impose 27% tax on everything sold in the third-party app store then I'm sure other EU competition laws will kick in. As Apple will be explicitly using their power to make direct competition non-viable. Also, EU does not need to spell everything explicitly. The law will give the EU Commission a lot of executive power to respond to this type of shenanigans from gatekeepers. Article 7, compliance with obligations for gatekeepers, paragraph 2: Where the Commission finds that the measures that the gatekeeper intends to implement pursuant to paragraph 1, or has implemented, do not ensure effective compliance with the relevant obligations laid down in Article 6, it may by decision specify the measures that the gatekeeper concerned shall implement. (...) Article 10, updating obligations for gatekeepers, paragraph 1: The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 34 to update the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6 where, based on a market investigation pursuant to Article 17, it has identified the need for new obligations addressing practices that limit the contestability of core platform services or are unfair in the same way as the practices addressed by the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6.
  - simondotau 5y ago
    None of that gets around the fact that the 27% can be defined as the licence fee for intellectual property. There’s no principle of capitalism that allows someone else to compete with you on the sale of your own goods.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  A good start for interpreting EU law is to let go of the US literal view of the law and to start looking at the intent of the law. That's a much better predictor for how EU courts will rule.
  - neximo64 5y ago
    I am from an EU country, and studied law. It doesn't work the way you're saying in court.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      Ah, the appeal to authority. To me your just another anonymous commenter on HN. Really, I couldn't care less, every lawsuit has lawyers on both sides and half of them will lose their case, but will maintain that their customer was right all along and that they will now appeal and then when they run out of appeals they quietly slink off into the dark with their money. EU anti-competitive law has been tested in court time and again by the big telcos and as a rule they have lost every time they tried to get smart with words. Apple will - I predict - fare no different.
      - neximo64 5y ago
        Whilst my appeal may be to authority yours is based on what you feel is right and wrong and that isn't the same as how the law works. In fact it's built to work against what a consumer feels to what that is fair. You might not like it but fair is tilted towards the large company not the consumer in the EU, especially when it comes to a company making profit. The big telcos btw always win, but always makes the consumer happy. Have looked at Orange do this countless times. Why don't you tell me about how happy you feel the EU is green, and then i'll tell you how happy European companies are 'green' now includes natural gas. Both sides win I suppose.
        jacquesm 5y ago
        > The big telcos btw always win You are factually incorrect, if you really did study law you likely did not finish the course.

neximo64 5y ago

None of these stop the % commission they merely say it has to be applied fairy and equally. The fees aren't a gatekeep since everyone has the same treatment and no one is being 'gatekept'

Jensson 5y ago
EU already forced visa and mastercard to lower their fees, this is exactly the same kind of scenario. EU doesn't tolerate giant companies making themselves into a bottleneck so they can extract more money from the economy.
Isinlor 5y ago
The law will require to allow third-party app stores. If Apple decides to impose 27% tax on everything sold in the third-party app store then I'm sure other EU competition laws will kick in. As Apple will be explicitly using their power to make direct competition non-viable. Also, EU does not need to spell everything explicitly. The law will give the EU Commission a lot of executive power to respond to this type of shenanigans from gatekeepers. Article 7, compliance with obligations for gatekeepers, paragraph 2: Where the Commission finds that the measures that the gatekeeper intends to implement pursuant to paragraph 1, or has implemented, do not ensure effective compliance with the relevant obligations laid down in Article 6, it may by decision specify the measures that the gatekeeper concerned shall implement. (...) Article 10, updating obligations for gatekeepers, paragraph 1: The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 34 to update the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6 where, based on a market investigation pursuant to Article 17, it has identified the need for new obligations addressing practices that limit the contestability of core platform services or are unfair in the same way as the practices addressed by the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6.
- simondotau 5y ago
  None of that gets around the fact that the 27% can be defined as the licence fee for intellectual property. There’s no principle of capitalism that allows someone else to compete with you on the sale of your own goods.
jacquesm 5y ago
A good start for interpreting EU law is to let go of the US literal view of the law and to start looking at the intent of the law. That's a much better predictor for how EU courts will rule.
- neximo64 5y ago
  I am from an EU country, and studied law. It doesn't work the way you're saying in court.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    Ah, the appeal to authority. To me your just another anonymous commenter on HN. Really, I couldn't care less, every lawsuit has lawyers on both sides and half of them will lose their case, but will maintain that their customer was right all along and that they will now appeal and then when they run out of appeals they quietly slink off into the dark with their money. EU anti-competitive law has been tested in court time and again by the big telcos and as a rule they have lost every time they tried to get smart with words. Apple will - I predict - fare no different.
    - neximo64 5y ago
      Whilst my appeal may be to authority yours is based on what you feel is right and wrong and that isn't the same as how the law works. In fact it's built to work against what a consumer feels to what that is fair. You might not like it but fair is tilted towards the large company not the consumer in the EU, especially when it comes to a company making profit. The big telcos btw always win, but always makes the consumer happy. Have looked at Orange do this countless times. Why don't you tell me about how happy you feel the EU is green, and then i'll tell you how happy European companies are 'green' now includes natural gas. Both sides win I suppose.
      - jacquesm 5y ago
        > The big telcos btw always win You are factually incorrect, if you really did study law you likely did not finish the course.