The Wall Street Journal is weighing in on Apple’s decision to enforce in-app-purchase availability, and publishers’ reactions, as well as discussions with Apple representatives at yesterday’s The Daily launch event. It sketches out the overall issues involved, but also comes out with some new tidbits of information, such as a new March 31 deadline for newly-submitted newspaper and magazine apps offer an iTunes store purchase option.
Yudu, a UK digital periodical publisher, reported being alerted to this change in an email when it applied for a new app.
His company already processes all transactions through iTunes so there would be no change to the way it operates, [Yudu Chief Executive Richard] Stephenson said, but said others could be affected. "The implications are fairly serious," he said. Adding that there are a number of companies whose "whole business model is on the basis of taking people away from the store."
And it points out that the FTC opened an investigation into Apple’s programming technology and advertising restrictions last year, before Apple subsequently changed its policies. It seems likely that another such investigation could be in the offing. (Found via Engadget.)
In a related note, our founder David Rothman has posted his own opinion on the matter, both in a comment to my previous article and as a longer post on his own Solomon Scandals blog.
