Apple offers small concession in easing App Store rules for Netflix, others

FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) -Apple Inc will let some apps like Netflix Inc provide links to their websites for user payments, a small concession that would allow app developers to bypass the controversial 30% App Store fee the iPhone maker charges.

The concession was part of a settlement with Japan's anti-trust regulator, which said the change was enough for it to close a five-year investigation into Apple that focused on video and music apps but did not consider games.