It sounds like they're only cracking down after getting bad press.

> They can’t just refuse to pay out that $14 mil to the app developer - these are bad user experiences that trick people into agreeing to subscriptions, but they aren’t clearly illegal.

I haven't read the developer agreement but I'd be surprised if it's written in such a way that they don't have any discretion here. Just because it's not illegal doesn't mean it doesn't violate Apple's terms.