July 21, 2022
Microsoft has revised the wording in its Microsoft Store policies, a move necessary because of concerns that open-source developers could be barred from making profits from their apps on the store.
The controversial wording can be found in sections 10.8.7 and 11.2 of the Store policy documents. These sections detail how much developers charge for apps and for reporting copyright infringement to Microsoft.
Microsoft’s new wording for Section 10.8.7 states: “In cases where you determine the pricing for your product or in-app purchases, all pricing … must not be priced irrationally high relative to the features and functionality provided by your product.”
Giorgio Sardo, general manager of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices Group, said the motive behind the policy was not to prevent developers from making money, but to prevent misleading and copied apps from profiting from OSS apps.
“Last month, we shared a few updates to Microsoft Store policies to help protect customers from misleading product listings. We heard your feedback and today we made a change to policy 10.8.7 and 11.2,” Sardo said in a tweet this week.
The sources for this piece include an article in ZDNet.
