Chance Miller, reporting for 9to5Mac:

During a workshop event in the European Union today, Apple shed new light on how the Core Technology Fee plays into its compliance with the Digital Markets Act. In particular, the company acknowledged concerns that the CTF could ultimately end up bankrupting small developers who have a free app go viral.

Apple’s explanation came in response to a question from Riley Testut, the creator of AltStore. Testut explained that in high school, he created an app – which was distributed outside the App Store – that received 10 million downloads. Under the new App Store Guidelines, Testut would owe Apple €5 million due to the Core Technology Fee.

Apple’s Kyle Andeer explained that Apple hasn’t yet figured out a solution to this problem, but it’s something it continues to work on. Andeer also pointed out that, based on the data, Apple “didn’t see many of examples” of situations like Testut’s.

Andeer is Apple’s chief compliance officer, also known as the person who ensures Apple complies with regulations from various governments around the world. Testut asked Andeer during an E.U. workshop between Apple — an E.U.-designated “gatekeeper” — and third-party developers about the CTF and how someone, say, a high-school student whose app suddenly went viral overnight would comply with the CTF. Andeer, while not revealing any new changes, told Testut: “And it is something we’re working on. So I would say on that one, stay tuned.”

I heavily doubt Apple would get rid of the CTF entirely, but perhaps it would waive it for developers enrolled in the App Store’s Small Business Program created in the summer of 2020. That would allow developers who don’t make over $1 million a year to be exempt from the CTF, even if their apps went viral. I think that’d be a perfectly adequate solution to this problem E.U. fanboys have been decrying since January. I still think Apple deserves a cut from developers who make the big bucks off of their apps on iOS. The platform isn’t free to maintain — pay or get out.