Android smartphone owners can no longer purchase digital goods from the Amazon app. This decision by the e-commerce giant is a response to Google’s new policy regarding in-app purchases.
A radical decision on the part of Amazon
Indeed, Google will require, from June 1, that all Play Store applications use Google Play billing for digital purchases, allowing the Mountain View company to take 30% commission on them. Applications that do not comply with this measure will simply be removed from the Play Store. If this famous tax has been in force for several years, Google has decided to end a hands-off policy that effectively allowed companies to manage their own billing systems.
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However, some participants in Play’s Media Experience Program enjoy a lower commission rate of 10%, and Google has announced a pilot program so that some developers can use their own billing systems. This includes Spotify in particular but obviously not Amazon. The e-commerce giant has therefore taken a radical decision.
Now, people with an Android smartphone and going to the Amazon app can still buy physical books, but not digital ones. In this case, a link indicating ” Why can’t I buy on the app? is in place of the buy button. This link displays a pop-up window stating: ” To stay compliant with Google Play Store policies, you will no longer be able to purchase new content from within the app. You can make a playlist on the app and purchase from the website [d’Amazon] from your browser “. This is also the case for the content of Amazon Music, specifies Ars-Technica.
Amazon has refused to sell digital goods on iOS since 2011. Photograph: James Yarema/Unsplash
The tax imposed by Google and Apple is the subject of much criticism
iPhone owners can no longer buy digital books on the Amazon application since 2011, and must make their purchases from their Kindle or from a web browser. Like Google, Apple charges a 30% commission on all in-app purchases, a policy strongly criticized by many app developers. For their part, the two giants of Silicon Valley justify this sum by affirming that they offer them a secure market and access to a huge global market.
In April, Amazon announced that it was removing Audible audiobook purchases from its Play Store app. In addition, the Barnes & Noble bookstore has also removed the possibility of buying digital books from its Android application. Epic Games, which has embarked on a standoff against Apple and Google over the 30% tax, also protested against the new measure of the Mountain View firm by filing an appeal with a court.
However, these protests are unlikely to change either of the two tech giants’ minds, however the latter should be wary as their billing policies have come under scrutiny from some regulators, particularly as they may be seen as monopolistic behavior.