Around the payment policy, the tug-of-war between the Dutch antitrust regulator and Apple continues.
On January 24, the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) fined Apple a fine of 5 million euros for failing to meet regulatory requirements to ease restrictions on the use of other payment methods by developers of dating apps in the Netherlands.
At present, Apple has not publicly responded to the latest move of Dutch regulation.
The matter stems from an investigation by dutch antitrust regulator ACM in 2021.
At the time, ACM found that app developers entering the App Store paid Apple $99 a year for their services. For developers who offer paid or subscription services, such as dating app service developers, Apple also attaches other conditions. Since dating app developers can only serve Apple users through the App Store, this makes them highly dependent on Apple and can only accept Apple's conditions.
But in ACM's view, Apple's policies are unreasonable and violate competition rules. As a result, ACM requires Apple to adjust the conditions for dating app providers to enter the App Store within a time limit and allow dating app providers to use payment systems other than Apple's payment system.
In response, Apple applied to the Dutch court to prevent ACM from publishing its decision and applied for a temporary suspension of the order.
On December 24, 2021, a Dutch court ruled that ACM could publish a partial regulatory order that Apple must allow dating app developers to use other payment methods by January 15, 2022. In addition, the court also suspended some of ACM's penalty decisions, which also reduced the amount of Apple's fines.
Faced with a court ruling, Apple chose to appeal while complying with compliance.
On January 14, 2022, Apple announced the introduction of two optional ways for dating apps on the Dutch App Store to give users additional payment processing options. One payment method is to direct the customer to the developer's website to complete the payment, and the other is a third-party payment method built into the dating app. Regardless of the payment method, dating app developers pay Apple a commission.
"We are concerned that these changes could harm the user experience and pose new threats to user privacy and data security. At the same time, we are obliged to implement mandatory changes today (January 14), and we will provide further information shortly. Apple added.
Subsequently, the ACM said it would hold discussions with dating app developers and other interested parties to assess whether Apple's payment policy complies with regulatory requirements.
But in its latest report on January 24, the ACM noted that Apple had failed to meet the requirements in several ways. The most important point is that Apple has failed to adjust its policies, and dating app developers still can't use other payment methods.
In addition, ACM also believes that Apple is forcing developers to "choose one or the other" payment methods: either using backlink payments or third-party payments built into dating apps. ACM believes that developers should have both options at the same time.
It is understood that if Apple does not adjust the payment policy in time to meet the standards of ACM, it will be fined an additional fine of 5 million euros per week, with fines of up to 50 million euros.
Synthesis/Compilation: Nandu reporter Huang Liling
![Face fines of up to €50 million! "Apple tax" "under siege" in the Netherlands[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)