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APAC in Brief Google and Apple last week started to allow developers of mobile applications to distribute their wares through third-party app stores and accept payments from alternative payment providers.

The tech giants made their changes in response to Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA).

Neither seems particularly happy about it.

Apple warned the law’s requirements “open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, and privacy and security risks.”

Cupertino has complied anyway, and said it introduced “Notarization for iOS apps, an authorization process for app marketplaces, and requirements that help protect children from inappropriate content and scams.”

Apple also dropped its App Store commissions to 10 percent “for the vast majority of developers.”

Google called for “constructive regulatory engagement and careful enforcement to avoid any unintended consequences as these new rules are rolled out.”

The company now offers Japanese users screens that let them choose a browser ...