Apple is at odds with domestic giants due to damaged channel profits

According to Bloomberg, Apple is stepping up pressure on Tencent and ByteDance, demanding "fundamental changes" to their most popular apps in China.

In recent months, Apple has asked Tencent and ByteDance to "plug the loopholes" because creators on WeChat and Douyin platforms have used these "loopholes" to direct users to external payment systems, bypassing the usual 30% commission charged by Apple.

In May this year, Apple warned Tencent that it might reject important updates to WeChat if it did not remove links used by small game developers to accept payments from non-Apple platforms. A few months later, Apple asked Tencent to disable a key "in-game messaging" feature that also diverts users, but Tencent has not yet agreed to these requests.

In June, Apple notified ByteDance that it would not accept updates to new versions of Douyin unless it also plugged similar payment loopholes.

According to reports, WeChat and ByteDance have recruited thousands of small game or mini-program developers to create content for their WeChat and Douyin ecosystems. As these small games become increasingly popular, developers have begun to profit by selling in-game items, and many have found ways to bypass Apple's payment system to increase their originally lower profits.

On WeChat, Apple has detected web links circulated by developers and attempted to close them -- Tencent has agreed to close this "loophole" through a WeChat update released in early July. However, Apple is still seeking further measures, demanding that Tencent disable in-game chat functionality between creators and players, as it is also used to provide alternative payment links.

It is reported that Tencent did not agree to the above request because it believes that Apple's demands would weaken the product and may affect the quality of service provided to players. Meanwhile, Douyin has launched a plan that allows Apple to charge commissions on in-app purchases, or it may affect updates to the platform's 618 e-commerce activities.