France Threatens to Fine Google and Apple on Developers Abuse

France is threatening to fine Google and Apple for abusive commercial practices through their app stores, according to Bloomberg.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France will take legal action against Google and Apple and fines could be in the “million of euros“. Fines are likely to be about 2 million euros per company, accused of taking advantage of local developers. This comes after a two-year investigation by the ministry’s fraud repression unit, according to an official in Le Maire’s office.

“I learned that when developers develop their applications, and sell to Google and Apple, their prices are imposed, Google and Apple take all their data, Google and Apple can unilaterally rewrite their contracts,“ Le Maire said in an interview with RTL radio. “All that is unacceptable and it’s not the economy that we want. They can’t treat our startups and developers the way they do.“

Google said its terms comply with French laws and it intends to make that case in court, according to an e-mailed statement by a representative for the company in France. The company said it has been collaborating with the French fraud office on several matters over the past few years, including its Google Play app store. A representative for Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.

France has had a complicated relationship with Internet giants. On the one hand the country is courting them to set up operations in the country and on the other hand it is leading efforts at the European Union level to force them to pay more taxes in the countries where they operate, rather than in low-tax countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg where they’ve based their European subsidiaries.

In the case unveiled by Le Maire, the anti-fraud office determined that between 2015 and 2017 there were “significant imbalances“ in the relationship between Google and Apple and developers who sold via their application stores. The findings of a similar probe into Amazon last year are being reviewed by a tribunal, Le Maire’s office said. Le Parisien reported last December that the Finance Ministry is seeking to fine Amazon 10 million euros. The Developers Alliance, a group which boasts 70,000 developers as members, said it welcomes the support of the French government, but would rather see it focus on other fronts like the free flow of data and more openness between markets.