EXPLAINER: What is Apple doing with its App Store?

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and MATT O’BRIEN
AP Technology Writers

Apple has recently eased some longstanding restrictions that helped make its App Store into a big moneymaker for the company. The company has long required app developers to pay high commissions on the sales of paid apps as well as purchases of subscriptions or digital items inside their apps. But Apple faces significant pressure to open up the App Store further, including a pending decision in an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, and a new law in South Korea that would allow developers to sidestep payment systems run by both Apple and Google and the commissions of 15% to 30% they charge.