Archie Stonehill的动态

???? New Google Antitrust Settlement (NOT EPIC)! ???? Wow - I know the pace of news is insane but I promise this is worth paying attention to! Context: Fresh off the Epic decision last week, Google has shed some light on the terms of their settlement in a separate lawsuit filed by US State AGs. The settlement was announced in September but these are the first details on the terms. Google has only laid out the general scope for now but here is what we can tell already. Overview: While the details are still a bit fuzzy, it is clear that the settlement addresses every anti-competitive platform behavior, notably: sideloading, alternative billing, and anti-steering policies. The policy changes seem more moderate than what we could see in the final Epic remedy (due in January) or the EU's Digital Markets Act guidelines (enforcement starts in March 2024) but this is still a huge leap forward compared to where we are today. For example, Google are expanding User Choice Billing to all devs. This is amazing news as it means developers can offer alternative billing options from within their apps (including discounted prices for consumers!). However, they don't indicate they will go further than the 4% discount on standard platform fees they offer today for developers not using Google Play Billing. That's not nothing but it means there isn't much benefit in adopting alternative payment services for all but the largest devs. I am very hopeful that one or both of the EU's DMA or Judge Donato's remedy in the Epic trial will increase this discount to well over 4%. Highlights: This settlement sets a new baseline for developers' abiltiy to operate D2C channels. Overall, developers will have much greater flexibiltiy than has been permitted historically by either Play or Apple. These are the key takeaways (quotes from Google's blog post): ??Google will now allow alternative billing/payments systems: "App and game developers will be able to implement an alternative billing option alongside Google Play’s billing system for their U.S. users who can then choose which option to use when making in-app purchases" ??Easier sideloading and improved consumer UX: Google will be "further simplifying the sideloading process and updating the language" that warns users of security risks when downloading apps from outside the Play store ??Relaxation of antisteering prohibitions: "As part of user choice billing... developers are also able to show different pricing options within the app" Stick around for more updates as we find out more! Thanks