Legislatures Can Free App Developers From Platform Providers' Mandates To Use Their In-App Purchasing Systems Without Violating WTO Principles

Internet platform providers rely upon developers of applications to populate their application stores.  Some platform providers mandate app developers to use the platform's in-app purchasing system as a condition to sell the apps on the platform.  There have also been commission charges as high as 30% imposed on digital goods or services sold through their stores.  The temptation to use their enormous leverage to gain further economic advantage is understandable, but governments, not to mention app developers, have taken an increasingly dim view of this behavior.  A number of countries are considering legislation to prohibit such mandates by Internet platform providers.  A leading example is the Republic of Korea, where its legislature has just voted to enact such a prohibition.