'App Toll Tax Abuse' Google Cuts Commission from 30% to 15% for Annual Revenue Under 1.1 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina Cho] Google, which has been criticized for so-called 'app tollgate' abuse, has decided to lower the application market commission rate from the current 30% to 15% for certain revenue brackets.

Google announced on the 15th that starting July 1, it will apply a 15% commission rate to all Google Play developers with annual revenue up to $1 million (approximately 1.135 billion KRW). For revenue exceeding this amount, a 30% commission will be applied. For example, if a developer's annual revenue is 2 billion KRW, a 15% commission will be charged on 1.135 billion KRW, and a 30% commission on the exceeding 865 million KRW.

Google stated, "The era of the 30% commission is effectively over," adding, "With this half-price commission announcement, almost all domestic developers selling paid content on Google Play, regardless of company size?large, medium, or small?will benefit from the commission reduction." Apps provided for free on Google Play and apps trading physical goods will continue to be exempt from commissions as before.

This move goes a step further than Apple's earlier decision to lower the commission to 15% only for companies with annual revenue under $1 million starting next year.

Last year, Google formalized a policy to mandate in-app payments for all apps and content on its app market, Google Play, taking a hefty 30% commission in the process. Following this, there was backlash from the domestic IT industry, and political circles pushed for the so-called Google Abuse Prevention Act (an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act), spreading controversy over app market abuse. Similar legislation targeting the monopolies of Apple App Store and Google Play app markets has also been introduced in the US, Europe, and other regions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.