Personally I don't think 15% is that unfair for businesses that make $1 million or less per year which is what Apple charges[0]. If I had a business making $500,000 / year and most of that revenue was through organic sales through the app store's search I would be wildly happy about that and also send yearly gifts of appreciation to Steve Jobs' family. Note to readers: I don't own any Apple products or do mobile app development but I used to be involved with selling courses on certain platforms that take a 50% cut.
But, if you were really unhappy about it then the solution is kind of easy on paper. If every developer pulled their apps from the app store in unison and suffered a short term loss then Apple's sales commission would drop to $0 and they would announce a cut in rates probably within 48 hours -- no regulation or competition needed. This strategy works for any marketplace.
But, if you were really unhappy about it then the solution is kind of easy on paper. If every developer pulled their apps from the app store in unison and suffered a short term loss then Apple's sales commission would drop to $0 and they would announce a cut in rates probably within 48 hours -- no regulation or competition needed. This strategy works for any marketplace.
[0]: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program...