The verdict is in. Apple has been fined again in the Netherlands for its “unreasonable” handling of dating apps that are denied payment through third-party services at the Apple Store. In total, the apple brand is fined up to 20 million euros.
The Netherlands does not want to let go of Apple. The Californian firm has been fined another five million euros by the Autoriteit Consument & Markt, the Dutch antitrust watchdog (ACM), for having applied conditions deemed “ unreasonable to local dating app developers. And this, for a reason: they wanted to use an embedded third-party payment service to avoid going through the one imposed by the App Store.
Last August, the ACM ordered Apple to allow dating apps to use an alternative payment technology for in-app purchases. Apple had tried everything in court to delay the deadline, obtaining a final deadline in mid-January to comply. And the American company had finally given in by authorizing external payments, not without threatening a tithe taken from the alternative payment tools applied to the applications of its own store. A form of commission that would continue to fall into the coffers on the grounds of the maintenance and sustainability of the App Store as well as the creation assistance model.
A “considerable number of requirements”
The regulator therefore continued to impose fines on Apple over the weeks, believing that the founder of the iPhone was making no effort to comply with the requests. In its response of the day, the ACM even said that it was very unhappy with Apple’s announcement of changes to the conditions in the event of the use of an alternative payment system.
” Apple’s requirements for dating app providers are unreasonable and create an unnecessary barrier “, explains the ACM, “(…) creating a conflict with the requirements set by the ACM. »And also to attack the intentions of the apple brand which, in its new conditions, requires that“app providers wanting to use an alternative payment system create a whole new app from scratch.»
Source: Unsplash – James Yarema
In the end, the ACM mainly criticizes Apple for its “considerable number of requirements» for applications that want to use an external payment solution (additional file to be provided, new technical information to be provided, transaction fees, etc.). “Disadvantageous” conditions according to the organization, in particular for the creation of a new application required in the event of purchasesin appexcluding the App Store, the additional costs incurred by developers and the difficulties in properly warning consumers. To this should be added a commission on transaction fees not processed by Apple which is barely lower than the current rate charged on purchases.
The Netherlands, pioneers of the European crusade?
The sanction hung over the heads of Cupertino and it ended up falling in Europe too. And the bill is piling up for Apple. The five million euros of the day are added to the 15 million fines already accumulated. The ACM has promised to continue if Apple continues to resist, for a maximum penalty of 50 million euros. Pecadilities for Apple, would one be tempted to say and understand why the company does not react more quickly…
Attacked from all sides for the obligation imposed on the developers of paid applications to rely on the payment system provided for in the App Store, Apple bends everywhere, but still does not break. After South Korea and Japan, but for different reasons, Apple will have to find a solution for the first time in Europe. And Dutch case law could be emulated. Many countries, including France, have been preparing a response for some time now.
But Tim Cook and his people remain faithful to their habits by giving permission to look elsewhere while making it more complex and unattractive for developers. By complicating their lives in short. A way to also test their resistance and their motivation to leave the sweetness of the nest. And everyone does not have the financial and solid kidneys of Epic… still excluded for the moment from the App Store, despite the crusade in which Tim Sweeney his boss has embarked.
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