Apple was hit with $42.8 million in fines before complying with their rules, say Dutch regulators.
The tech giant was slapped with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of penalties by the The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets before they would let dating apps use their own methods of payment.
They ordered Apple to allow third-party apps to use their own methods of payment in August 2021, which the iPhone creator rejected, leading to a court battle. However, the judge ruled in the ACM’s favour, leading to Apple finally conceding in January. To comply, the company - led by CEO Tim Cook - stated that dating apps would need to make another app to allow for in-app purchases in the country and would still charge a commission on payments.
Martijn Snoep, the ACM’s chairman said: “We want everyone to be able to reap the benefits of the digital economy. In the digital economy, powerful companies have a special responsibility to keep the market fair and open. Apple avoided that responsibility, and abused its dominant position vis-à-vis dating-app providers. We are glad that Apple has finally brought its conditions in line with European and Dutch competition rules. That offers app providers more opportunities to compete. And consumers will ultimately reap the benefits, too.”
The ACM also said that they "collected information from dating-app providers and independent experts before its assessment that Apple complied with the order."
The watchdog is expected to continue pursuing Apple for how they disallow payments from third-party apps other than in the dating genre.
