Saturday, 20 December 2025

Chance Miller, reporting for 9to5Mac this week:

To comply with the Mobile Software Competition Act
(MSCA), Apple has announced a set of major
changes to the App Store and iPhone in Japan. The changes include
new app distribution options for developers and new alternative
payment rules for the App Store.

Apple announced the changes in a post on Apple Newsroom
today and on its developer website. The
company says that Japan’s “MSCA’s requirements for alternative
app marketplaces and app payments open new avenues for malware,
fraud and scams, and privacy and security risks.” Nonetheless,
the company has collaborated with Japanese regulators to strike
as best a balance as possible to comply with the law and
protect users.

Broadly speaking, Apple says Japan’s MSCA does a better job of
balancing openness with security and user protection than the DMA
in the EU. For example, Apple does not have to support app
downloads from the web in Japan like it does under the DMA. Apple
retains ability to protect users from malware and other security
risks. This is especially true when it comes to protecting
children, as outlined below.

Developers in Japan can now offer their own payment processing within their apps and games, and offer link-outs to the web, but these options must be offered alongside the option to pay using Apple’s own in-app purchase system. Developers are allowed to offer lower prices in alternative payment methods. That strikes me as a decent, but not ideal balance. I think it’s fair for Apple to mandate that its own IAP be offered alongside any form of alternative payment within an app. But, as I’ve long advocated, links to the web — leaving the app for the system’s default browser — should be permitted without having to offer IAP too. But overall, where Japan landed is reasonable.

From Juli Clover’s report on Apple’s MSCA compliance at MacRumors:

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s changing as of today:

• Side Button — Users in Japan will be able to change what
  the side button does, and it will be able to activate
  third-party voice assistants instead of Siri.
• Payment options — Developers can offer in-app purchases,
  accept third-party payments in their apps, or direct users to a
  website to make a purchase.
• Alternative app marketplaces — Apps can be distributed
  through alternative app marketplaces instead of the App Store.
  Users can set an alternative app marketplace as their default
  marketplace instead of the App Store.
• Fee changes — New fees range from 5% to 26% depending on
  distribution method and payment method.
• Browser choice — Users are prompted to select a default
  browser at setup.
• Search engine choice — Users are prompted to choose a
  default Search engine at setup.
• Navigation apps — Users in Japan can select a different
  navigation app.

Apple, in its own announcement, asserted its disagreement:

The MSCA’s requirements for alternative app marketplaces and app
payments open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, and
privacy and security risks.

Of course they disagree with Japan’s MSCA on some of these things. If Apple didn’t disagree, they’d implement these features worldwide, not make them specific to Japan. And since they’re not applying these compliance measures worldwide, it’s correct for Apple to explain why.

But on the whole, this is a gentlemen’s disagreement — a polite agreement to disagree, with Apple making their case but then implementing the necessary measures for compliance without complaint. A polite explanation that they see some of these measures as introducing privacy and security risks is not a complaint per se.

This is of a piece with Apple’s longstanding respect for and relationship with the Japanese government. Back in 2021, Apple changed the rules for “reader” apps in Japan to allow linking to websites, in order to comply with a ruling from the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC). In Apple’s announcement, App Store chief Phil Schiller said the following:

“Trust on the App Store is everything to us. The focus of the App
Store is always to create a safe and secure experience for users,
while helping them find and use great apps on the devices they
love,” said Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow who oversees the App
Store. “We have great respect for the Japan Fair Trade Commission
and appreciate the work we’ve done together, which will help
developers of reader apps make it easier for users to set up and
manage their apps and services, while protecting their privacy and
maintaining their trust.”

You can search, but you won’t find quotes from Schiller, nor any other Apple representatives, speaking of their “great respect for” and appreciation of the work they’ve done together regarding the European Commission and the DMA. Chance Miller, in his above-linked report at 9to5Mac, wrote, “Apple says Japan’s MSCA does a better job of balancing openness with security and user protection than the DMA in the EU.” I was in the same briefing with Apple representatives as Miller, and I’d say Apple was more clear than that. In addition to seeing the MSCA as more aligned with Apple’s own priorities regarding privacy and security than the DMA, Apple repeatedly emphasized that the MSCA respected Apple’s intellectual property in ways that the DMA does not. Complying with the DMA is adversarial and obtuse. An Apple spokesperson confirmed that, in contrast with the DMA, the guidelines that accompany the MSCA provide more clarity on things like privacy, security, safety, and youth protection. (E.g. apps distributed outside the App Store in Japan still require age ratings. There’s no such requirement in the EU.)

Because of the DMA, Apple has delayed and outright withheld major features in the EU. iPhone Mirroring, one of Apple’s best new features in recent years, is still unavailable in the EU. Apple fully expects more features to be delayed or withheld from the EU as time goes on. (With Apple Watch, they’ve now been forced to remove (or perhaps better said, hamstring) a feature that existed since Apple Watch debuted in 2015.) There have been no such feature delays (let alone withholdings) in Japan, nor does Apple expect there to be. The MSCA targets specific issues related to competition: how iOS apps are distributed, and how they are monetized. The MSCA choice-screen mandates for web browsers and search engines are clear, and don’t impose any odious or particularly confusing obstacles to users.¹ Apple has made clear that they don’t agree with every aspect of the MSCA, but if you read between the lines, you can see a begrudging acknowledgement from Apple that the MSCA is well-intended, clear, and attempts to strike a balance between user experience, privacy, and security; respect for Apple’s intellectual property; and the anticompetitive aspects of Apple’s control over app distribution and payments that the law was written to address.

There is a mutual respect here between Apple and Japan that is completely absent between Apple and the European Commission. The MSCA, through its focus and clarity, is also more respectful of users. Users in Japan get the benefit of alternative app distribution (AltStore is already there) and alternative payment options with no trade-offs like delayed or withheld features. It’s hard to find anything aside from small nits to complain about in the MSCA. It arguably gives Japanese users a better, more robust iOS experience than what Apple offers to the rest of the world.² The DMA, in contrast, has given EU users a worse iOS experience.

It’s the practical results of legislation and regulation that matter, not the intentions. The Japanese government seemingly gets that, and acts accordingly.