When you see your neighbor’s beard trimmed, get yours wet, tells us a popular saying that always has a phrase that fits the situation. In any case, and given the headline of this news, you must have already deduced it the bearded neighbor is Appleand that’s why Who should be doing their homework to avoid big problems in the future is Google. And indeed it is so.

As you may remember, earlier this month the European Parliament adopted the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, two rules to regulate digital platforms, to put an end to what the technology companies that operate in the common space of the old continent have been able to do until now. They still have to be formally approved by the Council of the European Union, but that is already a minor procedure, which will be resolved in a few months, unless there is a surprise.

But that doesn’t mean tech companies can continue to do as they please. The most recent example we had with Apple in the Netherlands, in a confrontation between the regulator of the said market and a technology company, which resulted in the company paying a fine of 50 million euros and forced adaptation to the conditions set by the regulator. Some terms that are limited to this jurisdiction and specific type of applications at the moment, but which are indicative of terms that will soon govern the entire European Union area.

Until now, Google has been spared from trials similar to that of Apple in the Netherlands, but the future application of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, which were added to the precedent of the Cupertino trial, must have raised several alarms. headquarters search engine company that very cleverly decided to act preemptively instead of waiting for the arrival of a new regulatory frameworkwith the problems it might cause.

The company thus published an entry on its blog in which informs about changes to the Google Play store in Europeamong which it stands out that from this moment lApp developers will be able to upload their versions using third-party payment systemsone of the key points of the Digital Markets Act and one of the policies of Apple and Google that has caused more friction with developers and many regulators for years.

There is an important nuance, yes, and that’s it this rule update applies to apps, not games. In this regard, the following is stated:We hope to expand invoicing alternatives for game application developers to their users in the European Union before the effective date of the Digital Markets Act.«. Although the trend has changed, games have always generated more revenue than apps, which would explain why Google is taking it easy in this regard.