Google and Apple’s next regulatory headaches are looming across the Pacific

Less than a week after Apple said it would Legislators have been reviewing an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which would ban app store operators from “unfairly using their market position to force a certain manner of payment” upon businesses. Once enacted, violators could be fined up to 3% of their annual sales, in addition to up to 300 million Korean won ($257,000) in penalties.The bill was expected to be submitted for voting on Monday, but the parliamentary session was abruptly delayed.If the law is passed, developers will be able to select which payment systems to use to process in-app purchases, meaning they may be able to bypass hefty charges imposed by the two longtime leaders.South Korea isn’t the only country in the region scrutinizing the two companies. On Monday, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called for new regulations on digital payments.”Digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are used to make contactless payments just like debit cards issued by a bank, but the parties are subject to different regulatory settings,” he wrote in an According to the most recent government study available, Google (Apple and Google’s app store fees have increasingly come under scrutiny as lawmakers and regulators have zeroed in on their dominance over the iOS and Android operating systems.Earlier this month, a bipartisan US Senate bill also took aim at both players by seeking to ban restrictions on app developers. Currently, the iPhone maker’s commissions are at the center of several legal disputes, including a separate lawsuit by one of Apple’s biggest developers — Epic Games. Apple has taken steps to reach out to developers, announcing last November that it would slash the fees it charged them from 30% to 15% if the developer made less than $1 million in the prior year.— Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae, Rishi Iyengar, Brian Fung and Lauren Lau contributed to this report.