By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) on Thursday

changed its policy in the European Union to allow developers to

communicate with their customers outside the app after the

Commission charged the iPhone maker in June for breaching the

bloc's tech rules.

The Commission had said that under most of the business

terms, Apple ( AAPL ) allows steering only through "link-outs", meaning

that app developers can include a link in their app that

redirects the customer to a web page where the customer can

conclude a contract.

Apple ( AAPL ) said developers will now be able to communicate and

promote offers that are available anywhere, not just on their

own website, from within their app.

However, Apple ( AAPL ) will introduce two new fees - an initial 5%

acquisition fee for new users and a 10% store services fee for

any sales made by app users on any platform within the 12 months

of the app installation.

Currently, Apple ( AAPL ) charges three types of fees: a core

technology fee for the less than 1% of apps, a reduced

commission for all digital goods and services sold through the

App Store, and an optional fee for the payments and commerce

services.

The two new fees will replace the reduced commission for all

digital goods and services sold through the App Store.

The Commission had earlier criticised the fees charged by

Apple ( AAPL ) for facilitating via the App Store the initial acquisition

of a new customer by developers, saying they went beyond what

was strictly necessary for such remuneration.

The charge against Apple ( AAPL ) is the first by the Commission

under its landmark Digital Markets Act which seeks to rein in

the power of Big Tech and DMA violations could result in a fine

of as much as 10% of a company's global annual turnover.

Apple ( AAPL ) said there has been an ongoing dialog with the

European Commission and the changes made were in response to the

announcements made in June.